Linda Williams working as a volunteer at Second Helpings, a food rescue agency. (Provided by Sharon Dunten for The Star)

Beth Snyder, who is a Guest Relations Assistant at Joy's House, works with guest Mr. Bill Chiasson to make a pen holder as an Easter craft activity. (Gary Moore for The Star)

Southport High School students perform a line dance at the Dance Marathon in the gymnasium. The students were dancing to raise money for Riley Hospital. (Heather Charles for The Star)

Spirit & Place Festival's theme, 'Living Generously,' calls attention to the ways anyone can help others

Indiana has a generous state of mind.

According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University -- which is fittingly based here in Indy -- Hoosiers gave an estimated $4.86 billion to charity in 2003. These numbers came out of the Center's Indiana Gives telephone survey, which is conducted every four years.

Organizers of the Spirit & Place Festival did not conduct a telephone survey when they were coming up with the theme for the 16-day celebration that is Spirit & Place -- a collaboration of the arts, humanities and religion. The process, and the theme, "Living Generously," came organically.

"The minute it came to the surface, we knew it was the perfect theme," said Pam Blevins Hinkle, Spirit & Place Festival director.

"It is a topic that is part of the fabric of all communities, regardless of tradition or background."

There are a lot of ways to live generously in Indianapolis, Hinkle said. Spirit & Place is a chance for people to understand their own communities -- and to understand the opportunities in the communities.

"If you look at the breadth of festival events, you are really struck by the opportunity that is in the community. I think there's something for all interests," she said. "And a chance to really explore how in our own lives we might live a more generous life."

The festival, Hinkle said, encourages attendees to consider their own philanthropy, to look into volunteerism, and to figure out how projects undertaken in Central Indiana impact the world.

Here are 30 suggestions for living generously right here in the Circle City:

1: Attend one of the Spirit & Place Festival's 71 events continuing through Nov. 18, www.spiritandplace.org.

2: Donate online to Girls Incorporated of Indianapolis, www.girlsincindy.org.

3: Buy an Indy Feral 2008 calendar, $20, at www.indyferal.org.

4: Volunteer to help someone learn to read through Indy Reads, www.indyreads.org.

5: The Tonic Ball is Nov. 17; proceeds benefit Second Helpings. www.secondhelpings.org.

6: Thanksgiving is Nov. 22. Volunteer to serve food at Second Helpings, www.secondhelpings.org.

7: Donate a gently used suit to Dress for Success, www.dressforsuccess.org/indianapolis, or volunteer your time.

8: From now until the New Year, the 8Humane Society of Indianapolis is running its Home for the Holidays campaign. Take home one of the 9,000 pets that come through the organization's doors each year. www.indyhumane.org.

9: Visit www.helpindyonline.com for volunteering ideas. The service is free, requires no registration and allows users to browse more than 400 active volunteer listings from 130 partners.

10: Set aside time to work with children at one of the Boys and Girls Clubs' after-school programs. www.bgcindy.org.

11: Support the arts in a visit to the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art's exhibits, which include "Focus: Midwest," and "Backyard: A look at suburban backyard living." Visit www.midwestcontemporary.org for more info.

12: Donate clothing, small household items or furniture -- along with food -- to the Wheeler Mission, www.wmm.org.

13: Join the United Way's Emerging Leaders Initiative. Now in its second year, the program gives young professionals a chance to meet with community leaders, www.uwci.org.

14: Become a member of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful's Event Recycling Team. Check out www.kibi.org.

15: Visit www.idealist.org, a national site created to aid non-profits in individual cities, to see where your help is needed in the community.

16: When you head to the RCA Dome for the Dec. 2 Colts game, take a toy for the WISH Tree Toy Drive. Salvation Army volunteers will be collecting toys at the Centerplate Colts Care stations from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit www.colts.com for details.

17: Give financially to help out the visual arts. Give to the Harrison Center at www.harrisoncenter.org, volunteer for the Wheeler Arts Community, www.uindy.edu/cpc/programs/wac.php

18: Show you're fond of local fauna with a donation to A Critter's Chance, a local wildlife rehab organization, www.acritterschance.com.

19: Call Joy's House and offer up your skills. The Broad Ripple agency was founded to provide an opportunity for aging adults, and those with physical and mental challenges. Visit www.joyshouse.org.

20: Check out Indianapolis Ambassadors, www.indyambassadors.org, for volunteer opportunities. The group of 500-plus members is always looking for more help.

21: Visit Second Helpings classes for lunch. Check out Chef Carl Conway's blog, "Cooking Up a Storm," at chefcarl.blogspot.com, for dates.

22: Dec. 1 is World AIDS day. Call Damien Center, www.damien.org, to set up some volunteer time.

23: Have time, but no cash? OK, go to www.volunteermatch.org. Should you find some cash in the couch, you also can donate to participating organizations through Volunteer Match.

24: Attend a dance marathon for Riley Hospital for Children -- or set one up yourself. The Riley Children's Foundation will tell you the many ways you can help the hospital at www.rileykids.org.

25: Apply to volunteer for WFYI's Indiana Reading and Information Services (IRIS). Every day, IRIS broadcasts the regional newspapers and many other Indianapolis publications. Visit www.wfyi.org/irishome.asp for more info.

26: Send someone a bouquet by From You Flowers, type in the reference code 528, and the Julian Center will get 20 percent of the order price. The center also has a wish list of immediate needs, viewable at www.juliancenter.org.

27: Gleaners Food Bank needs all manner of volunteers, from salvage workers to distribution helpers and drivers. Go to www.gleaners.org and find your forte.

28: If you're generous with yourself and get a new car for the holidays, the National Kidney Foundation of Indianapolis will happily take your old wheels. Visit www.kidney.org/site/index.cfm?ch=303 for more info.

29: Handy with a hammer? Habitat for Humanity needs your help, www.indyhabitat.org.

30: The Red Cross can always use your support, from driving people to medical appointments to being a part of its disaster action team. Visit www.redcross-indy.org for more information.

Advice from the giving

"Pick something that you're passionate about and get involved in it. I realize people in their 20s don't have a ton of money to give to things. You can give time, money, or even energy to something that you believe in." -- Jeremy Efroymson, executive director of the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art.

"Don't neglect those parts of town that you don't have an opportunity to go into. Make an effort to drive through parts of town that you don't normally drive through, and you'll see the need." -- Ken Honeywell, Tonic Ball organizer and Second Helpings volunteer driver.

"Volunteering with places like Second Helpings makes you more familiar with the resources in your community. It helps you to become a problem solver in your community." -- Chef Carl Conway, director of training at Second Helpings

"We think that the community's interaction has a huge impact on the quality of life. That's a very unique relationship. That special connection that they have with their pet is something that's hard to explain." -- Martha Boden, CEO, Humane Society of Indianapolis.

"It's everybody's responsibility to give back in some way. That may be through donating time or effort or skills, but everybody does have something to give. ..... I do believe that everybody shares that responsibility." -- Travis DiNicola, executive director of Indy Reads.

"We all have the same 24 hours. What you do with those 24 hours is very important. ..... If you see yourself staying in Indianapolis and raising a family, it's the community your family is going to grow up in, and why would you not want it to be successful?" -- Lindsay Cornelius, volunteer at United Way, co-organizer for the Emerging Leaders Initiative.

"I would look at it in very small, daily practices. It can range from smiling at the bank teller or the grocery store clerk and genuinely extending your warmth to them ..... to using energy-efficient light bulbs in your home. I'd encourage people to think about their environment, their family, and what ways they can be generous." -- Pam Blevins Hinkle, Spirit & Place Festival director

"Those that are privileged, those that have good jobs and can provide for their families ..... only have to look around not very far to find that there are kids in the community that don't have three meals a day. It's important for individuals in the community to give back -- that might be in terms of money or time -- both of those things are incredibly valuable to non-profit organizations." -- Rick Whitten, executive director, Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis.

"We can never really know the impact of actions that we take that are generous in spirit, because there truly is a ripple effect. It's something we witness here when we spend an hour with a woman and see an immediate impact. We see these examples of how an hour's worth of assistance truly impacts not only the woman but also her family." -- Dana Harrison, executive director, Dress for Success.