Help the poor

What can you, a teenager who doesn't have a lot of money or resources, do to help the poor and needy?

#Give a portion of your allowance each week to a poor and needy person or a cause in support of them

How much is your allowance or your salary from your part-time job? Not much, you might say. The great thing about giving though is that in about 99 percent of cases, you are not restricted to how much you can give to help the poor and needy.

That means for instance, instead of dishing out a dollar a day for a can of soda from the vending machine at school or work, maybe you can save this money two days of the week. Then give this money to the Zakat and Sadaqa committee of your mosque, a poor person you know in your neighborhood, a local soup kitchen or to a worthy cause abroad.

#Donate

Donations to your local and global organizations are incredibly important. Many of these organizations rely on donations to survive and serve their communities. Make sure you know where your money is going if you're donating money. You want to be sure that the organization is actually helping people.

Make a pledge to give up some treat for a month (like fancy coffee, or chocolate, or clothes shopping) and use the money that you save to donate to a local or global charity or non-profit.

Other than money you can donate food, clothing, toiletry items, old furniture, toys and books to local shelters and programs. These donations help people in straitened circumstances.

There is a variety of books for prisoners programs in various cities. See if your city or town has one. If not, maybe try to start one. Making sure that prisoners are getting the education they need (and often, have been denied) will help them to become productive members of society rather than stuck in the criminal justice system for the rest of their life.

#Encourage your parents to pay Zakat

Zakat is something too many Muslims neglect. If you are eligible to give Zakat, you must pay. If you aren't eligible, ask your parents about Zakat and if they pay, how and to whom. If they do not give Zakat, respectfully and politely emphasize to them the importance of this necessary pillar of Islam and encourage them to start paying it. Use wisdom and beautiful preaching.

#Volunteer

There are tons of ways to help out in your community through direct action. Ask at your local religious organization, or non-profit. Check out programs at your local library and see if they need assistance.

There are many different groups that you can work with: children, the elderly, the mentally ill, the homeless, women. You'll need to decide which group you want to focus on.

You can do things like teaching a course in resume development, computer skills. You could start up a local community garden and teach courses on how to grow sustainable food. A large number of people who are poor cannot afford to buy much produce, so teaching them a sustainable and cheap way to grow their own food, could help alleviate some of that vitamin deficiency.

You can work in shelters, soup kitchens, community centers, at after-school programs, and employment centers.

#Talk about it in your youth group

What are the first steps in finding solutions to problems? Dua (supplication) then brainstorming and discussion.

At your next youth group meeting, put the difficulties of the poor and needy in your community on the agenda. Simply discuss and brainstorm. You don't have to come up with a plan all at once. But discussing this will start the process and keep it in people's minds.

If you don't have a youth group, get your friends together. Instead of having the usual hang out time one day, substitute this with a formal meeting. Now you have a youth group that can do this exercise.

#Don't just collect money

There are plenty of basic necessities that people have to meet. Some people can't afford new shoes. So hold a shoe drive (some teens have already done this). Others cannot afford clothing. Hold a clothing drive. Collect the material, arrange for cars, vans or trucks to transport it to where it's needed, then make sure the material is properly distributed.

(Collected)