Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Dawne Gee of Wave-3  to talk about the #herkentuckycares initiative. It was so amazing to be able to share the blog's mission for 2018, and especially to talk with someone as inspirational as Dawne!

For those of y'all who are new to HerKentucky, or who haven't been following #herkentuckycares on social media, I really want to use social media to engage Kentuckians to do good deeds over the next few weeks. I've teamed up with a great group of Kentucky businesspeople to "reward" the good deeds you share on social media. You can learn more about #herkentuckycares here.

I think that, so often, so many of us want to do something to help others but get caught up in the idea that it takes a lot of time, money or effort to really effectuate change. The thing is, there are so many small things that you can do that can add up to a big difference. Here are a few of my favorite ways to help out my community. As an added bonus, some of these activities can redirect the "too many consecutive snow days" cabin fever we're all currently experiencing! 

1. Clean out your linen closet for the Humane Society! Did you know that your old towels and blankets could be keeping shelter animals warm? I try to take donations of ragged towels, old bedsheets, and past-their-prime blankets to my local Humane Society a couple of times a year. This process keeps your linen closets clean and helps a furry friend in the process! 

2. Tie a scarf around a high-traffic tree. I love this idea, which I've seen on social media several times. If you'll be in an area where there's a high homeless or housing-insecure population, why not leave a couple of extra scarves or blankets out so that they can keep someone warm? 

3. Raid your travel toiletry stash! Those travel bottles of shampoo and lotion that you brought home from hotels and then never, ever used -- you know you have them. They'd be put to good use at a shelter for women and children!

4. Clean out your coat closet! Most of us have coats that don't quite fit, or that we just don't quite wear anymore. We're having a cold, cold winter and that Christmas present you never really liked could save someone's life!

5. Weed out your bookcase! I try to make an effort to take books I'm no longer using to my local Little Free Library. It's such a great way to know that you're helping spark new ideas for everyone!

Remember to tag photos of good deeds on Instagram and Facebook with #herkentuckycares for the chance to win a gift card to Starbucks, Target, or Heine Brothers and let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions of simple ways to help others.

Thanks so much to Louisville Salsarita's, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, Yoga Instructor Ryan Bratcher, Realtor Kacy Noltemeyer, Liz Toombs of PDR Interiors, Jennifer Stetzler Interiors, and Realtor Russell Smith for their generous contributions!! Tag your social media pictures with #herkentuckycares for more ways to do good!