Good citizens are actively involved in the community in which they live and strive to improve their lives and that of their fellow citizens. They are proud of the place they live in and strive to make it better. Everyone wants to be considered a good citizen, and with a bit of thoughtfulness and effort, everyone can do it.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Helping the Community
Step 1. Try to be an informed person
One of the most effective ways to help your community is getting a good education. When you are educated, you can get better jobs and contribute more to the economy. In addition, you can better understand certain mechanisms and make sensible decisions when voting or doing other civic activities. Pay attention in class, keep a good average, and try to go to college.
Step 2. Work hard
Whatever profession you are in, working hard is important to being a good citizen. If you give your best professionally, then you offer services to others and earn a profit, two effects that contribute to the strengthening of the economy in your area.
If you are unemployed, go to your city employment office to find a new job. Don't know the address? Search it on Google and you will find all the information you need
Step 3. Keep up to date with current events
Read the news and learn thoroughly about issues that affect you, your area and the rest of the country. The word must be carefully underlined, in this case: listen to the opinions of others regarding various political ideologies and try to be impartial. Most situations are very complex and go far beyond the various parties - the world is not completely black or white.
Get involved in the planning process as well. You have your say on the opening of supermarkets, shopping malls and residential complexes in your corner of the world. Learn about the environmental, social, and health benefits these projects promise the local community (as well as making an economic profit). Talk to representatives and step in when you can to express what you think
Step 4. Share your luck
When things are good enough for you to have more time, money, or possessions than you need, offer your support to the community by selflessly sharing a portion of your fortune. There are many useful ways to help others:
- Volunteer. You can volunteer at local branches of organizations you care about. For example, she works in an animal shelter, hospital, or association that helps at-risk teens.
- Help the homeless. You can volunteer at a soup kitchen or shelter to help the homeless live in dignity.
- Make donations. You can donate money to many local, national and international organizations. Just make sure that the entity you choose, whatever it is, is using the money correctly. Many associations are dishonest: their only purpose is to line the pockets of executives. Do a thorough research to find out if a given organization you are interested in is truly trustworthy.
Step 5. Donate blood and plasma
They are vital body fluids, used daily to save thousands of lives. Supplies are often lacking, so if you want to participate and donate, that would be a wonderful gesture. If you have a rare blood type, you can literally mean the difference between life and death for someone in your community.
Donating blood and plasma is especially important when a major crisis occurs, such as a natural disaster. If there are many injured, blood is often scarce
Step 6. Take a first aid course
Get a cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid certificate. You can also sign up for courses to prepare for other emergencies, such as natural disasters. This way, in the event of a disaster you can help your fellow citizens. If you have already received training of this type, it is a good idea to repeat the course every 4-5 years: it helps you to refresh your skills. It's easy to forget them under pressure!
Step 7. Create jobs
Whenever you can, offer the opportunity to work. Hire someone to mow your yard or paint your house and pay them fairly. Hire a cleaning lady every 2-3 months for the toughest housework. This helps you run the economy and give a job to a person living in financial hardship.
Contact your city's homeless shelter to find workers. Often the homeless are very normal people who have found themselves embroiled in a bad situation: the small amount of money they earn from the jobs you offer may be enough to help them get back on their feet
Step 8. Try to be healthy
It is important to treat your body well and to protect your health. When you get sick, you put others at risk too. In addition, you occupy an important space in doctors' offices and hospitals, space that could be reserved for less fortunate people. Exercise, eat right, and be sure to update all of your vaccinations.
- If you need help with exercise or nutrition, wikiHow can help.
- With the increased availability of vaccines that can prevent childhood illnesses, you may want to update your vaccinations. As an adult you don't take a risk yourself, but the unvaccinated children around you do.
Part 2 of 3: Being Civically Active
Step 1. Vote
As a citizen, voting is an important right and duty. It is easy to forget it, to lose interest and vote only in the main elections. However, it is vital to vote whenever you can. The political management of a country goes far beyond the party that currently holds power. You also have to vote to elect local representatives, who often play a major role - especially in your area.
Voting in municipal and regional elections is equally important. Before making a choice, be well informed about the consequences it would have on yourself and your fellow citizens. Remember that municipal and regional election results directly affect your area
Step 2. When you are sued to appear in court as a witness, honor this commitment
It should not be taken lightly, it is in fact essential to contribute to the proper functioning of justice. If you have information on a case, it is very important for the progress of a trial. Consequently, if you receive a letter and are summoned, take advantage of it to behave like a good citizen in this context as well.
Step 3. Get in touch with political representatives to discuss issues that are important to you
When you have concerns, it is very important to reach out to the right people and express your ideas. Although they are too young to vote or have not chosen the current representatives, they still exercise power, so it is essential that they have direct contact with the people and their opinions.
If you don't know how to get in touch with a representative or you don't know who they are, you can do an internet search to find out
Step 4. Volunteer during the election
On election days, citizen intervention is required to count the votes. Join the register of tellers and wait to be summoned. If you are not called, you can show up at the first meeting of the polling station and try to replace an absent teller. Alternatively, you can volunteer with a party and help with polling or other jobs.
Step 5. Encourage the civic spirit of others
Encourage friends and family to participate at a civic level by volunteering with a political party they believe in, helping an organization, collecting petition signatures, or engaging in other important community activities. Encourage them to join you in these activities, or go door to door with an association to recruit more people.
Part 3 of 3: Protect the Future of Your City
Step 1. Recycle
Take care of the recycling of paper and plastic following the system indicated by your city. Sort the waste according to its destination and throw it in the appropriate containers. Familiarize yourself with the different categories and their respective symbols. Generally, most paper and plastic items can be recycled - the important thing is that they do not contain food or are not coated with wax.
Recycling helps reduce the amount of waste filling landfills
Step 2. Compost
Compose leftover food and other organic materials to further decrease the amount of waste you produce. Some cities collect compost; if yours doesn't, you can use it to fertilize your garden.
- Items you can compost include food scraps, bits of food you don't eat (such as carrot leaves), and unbleached paper.
- Composed by collecting all these materials in a large box, to be left outdoors. Every 2-3 weeks, mix the contents and add some earth; turn everything until you get a single compound (this process often takes months).
- When the compost is ready, you can sell it or use it to fertilize your vegetable garden or garden.
Step 3. Collect the trash
If you see litter around, don't look at it casually and then keep walking. Once a month, try to take some time to explore the neighborhood and pick up any trash you see from the ground. Make sure you use a garbage stick or gardening gloves to avoid hurting yourself with a dangerous item.
You can also join groups in your city that go around collecting litter from areas that are most affected. Get in touch with an organization or the city to find out more
Step 4. Pay attention to where and how you wash your car
Car wash products are very harmful to the environment (they often contaminate your drinking water), so start washing yours less often and do it yourself. When dealing with it, use ecological products.
- At a minimum, move the machine over the grass to wash it. This way, you will prevent chemicals from ending up in your drinking water.
- Try not to use water and wash the car only with a multi-purpose ecological dry product.
Step 5. Buy zero kilometer products
Buy as much food as possible from farmers and producers in your area; this will minimize the environmental impact due to long transport aimed at distribution. Plus, it ensures your food is safe and free of harmful chemicals or parasites - not to mention that it contributes to the local economy.
Food labels often indicate the place of production. Prefer organic and zero-kilometer products
Step 6. Store the water
It is a precious commodity and will one day be scarce, so protect it as much as possible. The planet will also be covered with water, however only part of it is drinkable, yet many abuse it for useless actions, such as watering the grass and staying in the shower for a long time.
- If you want to water your garden, use gray water (the water that is left over from food preparation or showering).
- Do not stay longer than 10 minutes in the shower, and wash your hair every other day.
- Avoid having a pool: it takes a lot of water from the plumbing system and makes it undrinkable.
Step 7. Conserve energy
Today, many of the methods used to create the energy needed to light homes and turn on electronic devices are also destructive to the environment. Try to use renewable energy sources by installing solar panels and do not overdo the consumption.
- Turn off the lights in empty rooms.
- Spend less time on the computer and read more books.
Step 8. Use public transportation
Stop using the car and take the bus instead. This will not only help you save the planet from environmental degradation, but it will also allow you to financially support public transport, which is essential for low-income families (who often don't own cars).
