Performance: 10 Ways to Serve While Dancing

giving back • my world • Mom It Forward Mondays • tips for giving back

by Mom It Forward on July 18th, 2011 | No Comments »

Serve—This week's Season of Service challenge is to dance, since National Dance Day is coming up on July 30th, and because #gno sponsor Ovaltine has inspired us to celebrate summer more. We all possess different gifts—some talk well, some write well, some dance well. For those of you who dance well, this is your week.

10 Bite-Size Tips for Dancing

Look up the traditional dances of a country like Portugal on Wikipedia or YouTube, with your kids. Then have them try to imitate that dance.
Call or check the website of your local community center or one in a place you'll be traveling to soon, and see if they offer any dance classes. Consider trying out one class as a way to meet new people and expand your "community."
Organize a family or neighborhood dance flash mob to take place on National Dance Day, using one of the routines posted on Dance4YourLife.org, the macarena, or any other group of silly moves you can put together.
Go the library and get a few books containing examples of kindness. Read them with your kids, and tell them every time they hear a kind act or word, they can do a little dance.
Create a dance about an issue you feel strongly about or about which you want to raise awareness, maybe based on an interview with someone who has experienced the issue firsthand. Make a video of your dance and post it on YouTube.
Contribute $10 to The Tribes Project, which is a Chicago-based youth group that produces original works and dance adaptations as forums for the open discussion of race, culture, and issues of the human condition.
Go see a ballet or other dance performance, then blog or comment about it on your own site, Facebook, or Twitter.
Contact your school's administrator and express interest in organizing a "dance for fun" assembly.
Ask a grandparent or older friend to demonstrate a popular dance from their youth.
Volunteer to do a one-time dance performance at a juvenile detention center, modeling positive skills. Contact your local United Way for suggestions.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

What other ideas do you have for giving to others by dancing?
How has dancing made a meaningful difference for you this week?
How have others given to you this week and what difference has that made in your life?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Season?

Make a meaningful difference this season by taking the Season of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here's how you can participate:

Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week's challenge.
Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week's challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
Enter to win each week's giveaway. Check out this week's prizes from Ovaltine by clicking here.
Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms about the challenge.