People often come across issues which are of importance to them, which they want to take a stand on one side or the other. This is encouraged in our democratic society - it is often how progress is made in our society. But people then often ask the question, ‘How Can I Help?’ It’s asked cautiously, because people have to balance their support of an issue with all of the other aspects of their lives as well as with their own skills and resources. Many don’t even ask the prior question because they are afraid by doing so, they’ll commit themselves to something far beyond what they’re willing or able to do. When you’re around passionate people who are struggling to make a difference and you express your tacit support, you can often feel their strong desire to pull you into their cause to the greatest extent possible.

It is a sad fact that the more impact you wish to make, the more effort it will take. This is the tradeoff that most would-be supporters face in deciding to support a cause. But the good news is that no effort is wasted or pointless - many, many causes have been significantly furthered by just a few people spending a few minutes a day letting others know of their support for these causes. The single largest factor in a cause being realized is the number of people who are willing to stand up and make their voice known, over and beyond any other activity or effort.

This list is an answer to those who ask ‘How Can I Help?’, ranked from the least visible impact & effort to the most visible impact & effort. Again, even though some of these efforts seem quite small, every one of these efforts can make a contribution and provide some impact for your cause.

• Talk with those who agree with your viewpoint and offer a sounding-board for each other, reinforcing and strengthening your viewpoints.
• Talk to others who may not be aware of your viewpoint. Let them know of your viewpoint and of others who share it, what they’re doing.
• Talk to others who you know disagree with your viewpoint. Engage in persuasive (but not confrontational) conversation to test your and their views against the other. See how well your viewpoint stands against theirs.
• Read/Listen to the media on a regular basis to learn about recent developments regarding the causes you support.
• Do research to discover organizations which support your viewpoint or cause, using the public library, an Internet Browser, or following up on authors and media sources who have written articles which support your viewpoint. Educate yourself by learning what these organizations know and have done about your cause.
• Provide a one-time contribution to any of these organizations which advocate your viewpoint.
• Prepare a database / card file of all organizations you discover that support your cause, including contact person, address and phone numbers, and any other related information such as clippings of their advocacy efforts. Use such acquired information to strengthen your viewpoint.

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