How to Save a Life

CPRNumber 1 on my Living To Do list is “Save a Life.” Some friends have even told me that I’ve done this for them, in various ways, but I would say that’s pretty much an exaggeration! Ideally my saving a life would be rescuing someone out of human trafficking—my dream is for that to end forever—but I have no idea how I could do that. Still, it could happen.

If you want to save a life, there are a number of things you can do to get it crossed off your Living To Do list. Try one of these or add your own.

Learn CPR and first aid. Then you’ll be ready to save a life in many situations. Try your local Red Cross or other health services to find a training near you.

Donate blood, marrow, or partial organs. You can also become an organ donor and have your organs donated to people after you die. This is absolutely life-saving.

Volunteer with a humanitarian organization. Whether it’s the Red Cross, United Way, Peace Corps or another organization, you could help build houses, stop floods, distribute life-saving services and help people in need anywhere and everywhere.

Help a friend in need. If you have the money to loan, an item to lend or an ear to bend, give it. These things may be the difference between life and death for some people.

Work a hotline. Whether a rape crisis, domestic violence, suicide or other hotline, you could talk someone out of making a dangerous decision and guide him or her to some help.

Volunteer at a shelter. Your very presence can make the difference for a lonely, depressed person ready to give up on life. Maybe you could give that one piece of advice, that one job skill or even a pair of shoes that will change someone’s life forever.

Provide an education. You might send your child to college, tutor a neighborhood student, or become a Big Brother/ Big Sister. Maybe you could visit a low-income school and help out, or discuss what you do and answer questions for children who might need some help in following their own dreams. Education itself is life-saving! Foster a love of reading, too; kids who love to read are more likely to succeed at what they do.

Become a vegetarian. Veg heads will tell you that you save over forty animal lives a year this way. (In this light, I’ve saved many lives, too… so I guess I should specify it as a human life that I want to save!)