1. Research Who You Vote for—Before heading out to vote, take a minute to look up your local candidates and propositions. It only takes a minute, and will allow you to make the best decision possible when at the polls. The information slip which comes with most ballots is often short and difficult to read, offering little to no information on specific candidates. Don’t vote for representatives and senators just because of political party. Take a moment to get to know them before exercising your right to vote. Too many eligible citizens claim ignorance as an excuse for not voting, but with all the resources available through the internet, there’s no reason to remain ignorant about political issues. Get out there and educate yourself!

2. The Together We Grow Program —As part of a partnership with the non-profit organization Trees for the Future, Artfire.com will plant a tree for all new members to the site. It doesn’t matter what kind of membership level you choose, we’ll plant a tree for you completely free of charge. We’ve already planted 5,000 in Honduras, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, India and the Philippines. We have no intention of stopping until we reach one million trees around the world! Check here to learn more about the Together We Grow Program.

3. Send an E-Card to Your Parents or Relatives—While this may not seem at first to be a productive way to change the world, when you take time to improve someone’s day, you are making an impact, even if it’s just a small one. Show your family members that you’re thinking about them by brightening their mood with a cute message.

4. Change Your Home Page to Clicks4Cancer—Clicks4Cancer is a charity search engine dedicated to cancer research organizations. When internet users set their homepage to Clicks4Cancer, the site will donate 70% of all their advertising commissions to the many non-profit cancer foundations they help support, such as the American Cancer Association and The Children’s Cancer Research Fund. All you have to do is set Clicks4Cancer to be your homepage. There’s even a button on the front page to help you do just that, so go check it out!

5. Leave Encouraging Comments on Blogs—Support local artists by offering positive reinforcement! There are literally hundreds of crafts blogs out there on the internet, with artists dying to hear feedback on their craft projects. Give them some appreciation for their talents by encouraging them to keep on crafting handmade goods! They’re artisans after all, and deserve praise for their hard work. Wouldn’t you like someone to do the same for you?

6. Use a Charity Search Engine—Charity search engines work by donating money to a nonprofit organization every time you search. They don’t charge anything for you to use them, and they allow you to do good just by clicking your mouse. We recommend searchkindly.org or goodsearch.com, but if you would like to choose what search engine is best for you, try clicking here for a list of the 15 top charity search engines.

7. Answer a Forum Question—Log on to Yahoo questions or your favorite crafting forum and volunteer your knowledge to the internet community. Help someone out by offering your helpful advice. This will encourage others to do the same, and you’ll be helping a stranger for no reason other than kindness. Just remember to be nice and keep any snotty comments to yourself!

8. Arrange to Pay Your Bills Online—Everyday, more and more companies are setting up new programs to allow you to shop or pay bills online. This makes paying bills faster and easier, saving paper and energy transportation costs. If you have the option, try to pay your bills on your computer to save trees and help the ecosystem.

9. Support Your Local Public Radio Station—Public radio stations offer local news, music, and community event information at absolutely no cost to residents. But they do need some listener support form time to time to stay alive! Even if you don’t tune into your local station often, check out your public radio station’s website and research how you can help. Volunteering time or money to these stations helps the community, even if you don’t have much to spare. For Tucson residents, we recommend supporting KXCI, 91.3. Click here to visit their website.

10. Turn off the Computer—Get out of your computer chair and hug someone important to you! Kiss your sweetie, tell your children you love them, or pet your cat. Show some affection for those who are closest to you. You’ll not only be making their days a little merrier, you’ll also be improving your own.