Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

Prince William and Kate Middleton are the future of royalty, and some of their decisions are quite a departure from those of the royal lineage. They have already decided to do without a staff of servants, will live predominantly in Wales while William finishes his military service commitment, and have now requested that in lieu of gifts for their upcoming nuptials, invited guests are asked to make a donation to charity. There is clearly no need for a royal toaster or crock pot that other couple just starting out might need…and it is a nice perspective for all of us to consider. Birthday? Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa? Anniversary? Wedding? Graduation? I like to receive a gift as much as the next guy, but my family stopped exchanging gifts years ago and instead we make charitable donations on behalf of the others for birthdays and Christmas. Not for everyone, but deciding where to donate each year is a fun kind of shopping, and seeing what new non-profit organizations my family has discovered is also a great eye opener each year.

If you have your own Wedding of the Century coming up, think about registering in a new way, à la Kate and William. Here is a previous posting about volunteer honeymoons and charitable gift registries, to get the brainstorming started. Prince William and Kate have a great target charity with the The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, and the foundation’s triple focus on young people, the environment, and the armed forces. William and Kate have both supported the charitable work of other organizations, and lend their presence to fund-raising events for groups doing the work they support, like their recent attendance at an event for the Teenage Cancer Trust.