A few weeks ago I decided to start a crazy idea. I wouldn’t drink for the entire month of December. Instead I’ll collect my funds usually dedicated to alcohol and donate them to hurricane relief in the Philippines.
If you haven’t started yet its not too late! You can still join the cause even if you are a few weeks late. I’m sure the charities won’t mind (I don’t even mind if you pick a different charity).
Yesterday marked 2 weeks of Don’t Drink December and I’ve raised $90 so far! Anytime I would have bought alcohol I instead get water, tea or juice and put the money I would have spent on alcohol into a donation account! Some other side affects are a lower calorie intake and the occasional “have you lost weight?” from my boss.
Last night also marked a new fundraising opportunity as my coworkers kept pestering me about if I’d have a drink. I finally told them if they donated to the cause I would drink and was immediately presented with $20. I guess its sort of cheating but its for a good cause!
The weekends are the hardest part but I’ve been able to find productive ways to use my time instead of going out drinking and nursing hangovers. It turns out when your friends know you are temporarily not drinking they 1) decide to join you and get healthy too and 2) invite you out less.
I’ve enjoyed hanging out at coffee houses and the like more than ever. I still don’t drink coffee but thy have some wonderful teas here. I find more time to practice my Korean and started teaching myself some Computer Science in an attempt to learn some coding. There are some great online resources and free videos on YouTube that help in that department!
This experience has also helped me get up earlier on the weekends and be more productive. I can already feel the lack of calories the way my pants fit. Well I guess that’s also because I’ve been much more conscious about what I eat this whole time. My first two months here I ate just about anything that was presented. As much as Korean cuisine is healthy they have a TON of fried chicken restaurants too.
I keep reaching out to the Philippines Red Cross but haven’t heard back since November 20th. I hope they are just busy with the holiday season but a getting concerned that by the time I hear from them it will be too late to make travel accommodations! The silver lining there is that I’ll just have to spend more time on the white sand beaches of Boracay. Oh, and I’ll still be able to donate the funds that I’ve collected.
I hope you choose to join me in this endeavor! Have you tried a similar campaign for charity? What other side effects did you notice?
