Getting involved with area charities in one (or more) of a variety of ways can help you make a connection with the people who live and work in your community; it can also help make you feel more connected to your community and help you network with residents in your area.

How you go about giving something back to your community depends very much on where you live and what you can give. For many people who want to invest in their areas, it is very hard to set aside time out of their busy schedule to volunteer somewhere on a weekly basis.

For anyone who already is short on time there is the option of making a financial donation to a worthy cause, or setting aside a piece of time once a month, or even a few times a year. If you have some free time that you can spare, there are a whole wide range of volunteer positions that you can do to help out a variety of organizations.

Some ways that you can give back to your community include:

Volunteering: There are many places in every city that need volunteers, for example: local food bank, library, senior centres, community theatre, service clubs, coaching a sports team, or Meals on Wheels. This type of volunteering is good because you can help out in an important “first hand” kind of way; often it is hard for organizations to find enough volunteers.

Sponsor an event: Often there are opportunities to sponsor events that are being organized that just need some financial support. This type of support is good particularly if youre busy and cant spare time to help out or organize an event of your own; though, you can sponsor an event AND help out at it as well!

Make a donation: There are numerous organizations and charities in every city that can use monetary donations or donations of food, clothing, building supplies, or other items.

Participate in an event: Most communities have a number of public events to raise money for causes, including food drives, “fun runs”, walks, etc.

For one creative Chicago home owner, the strategy is in offering prospective buyers a “value added” bonus to buy her home. The Glenview resident decided that she needed some incentive to set her townhome apart from the others for sale in her area. Due to proximity to one of the local culinary establishments, that incentive was chosen to be a $1000 tab at Grandpas Place restaurant and bar across the street from her $450,000 townhome. While that isnt quite the $1000 beer credit that the media is marketing it as, it would still be a great perk for home buyers, especially during the moving-in phase.

In any period of reduced home sales, it can be difficult to get more prospective buyers touring your home, especially if there are many other similar homes on your street for sale. Even if your incentive itself isnt likely to convince people to buy your home, it is quite possible that it will persuade the more curious house shoppers to at least come and peruse your residence.

For Chicago home owner Melanie Gravdal, the incentive increased her home showings threefold and has given her home sale nationwide coverage. In addition, the management at Grandpas Place has allowed her to post fliers advertising her townhome for sale in the bar as well.

There are a variety of added-value incentives that you could use to encourage home buyers to come and view a home, depending on what amenities are close by in your area.

Consider offering buyers a:

• Restaurant tab
• Year-long gym membership
• Lawn mowing service
• Gift certificate to a plant nursery
• Case of wine
• Selection of gift cards to local businesses like: salons, spas, grocery stores, etc.

While some of these ideas might seem costly, consider that they can each be offered at a variety of costs to the home seller. While knocking $1000 off the price of a home might not make much difference, offering buyers a $1000 “gift” might make them at least come and check out your home.

Luxury homes, which the Calgary Real Estate Board defines as properties over $1 million, have been a substantial part of the bigger and better sales numbers this year. Calgary luxury home sales have increased 24% over sales in 2010 and its not just resale luxury homes that are selling this year either; there is a lot of business in the luxury new construction realm as well.

The number of luxury home sales still below the peak numbers that were seen in 2007, but the year isnt over yet.

Some of the factors that are collectively contributing to the increase in sales in Calgary real estate are: up to a 10% decrease in Calgary properties, lower interest rates which can especially influence luxury property sales, and the fact that Calgarys cost of living makes it one of the most affordable cities in Canada to live in.

The latest in Alberta's breach of privacy incidents in the past year and a half recently came to light when Edmonton construction workers discovered five boxes of files discarded in their dumpster from a mortgage broker's office.

The construction workers described finding documents with home buyers' social insurance numbers, photocopied cheques, copies of drivers licenses, and other sensitive financial information. The documents found could easily be used to defraud businesses at these home buyers' expense.

The province's privacy commission has had almost 100 complaints of breach of privacy in the past year and a half, of which this is just the latest case.

When you are working with a company who needs to work with your sensitive information, dont be afraid to ask questions about how they deal with their documents when your business is completed. Companies needing to discard documents like these should be using their own shredders or a shredding & disposal service to ensure that no one can get a hold of your personal information.

Residents should also be aware that they should take care to properly dispose of their own sensitive documents as well. Destroy any documents you don't want to (or don't need to) keep that have financial or personal information on that unscrupulous people could use to steal your identity. Whereas this may not be a common occurrence, it is far easier to protect yourself from the possibility than it is to correct the situation if it happens to you.

Throughout Canada and the USA, anticipation is high; the young royals represent a kind of British monarchy-fever unseen since the days of Princess Diana. With such huge media interest, it will be good news for each of the locations on the Duke and Duchess's itinerary as news reporters from around the globe focus on their every move.

And this will only add to the confidence being felt here following a recent report that tourism in many parts of Canada is increasing considerably. A combination of strong economic growth and high employment is having a positive effect in attracting more pleasure visits to such cities as Calgary, and Conference Board of Canada forecasts are predicting increased tourism expenditure and revenue in the coming years.

With world-class hotels, dining and shopping it's little wonder that more and more people are visiting Calgary. And with a staggering range of events and attractions, including the world famous Stampede, Calgary Zoo, the new Telus Science Centre and the Sports Hall of Fame, plus a series of high-profile sporting events scheduled to take place in Calgary during 2011, there is no shortage of things to do in this great Alberta city.

Of course, with an anticipated increase in the number of visitors there has been a significant resurgence in the local condo market here in Calgary. Some of this growth in interest is likely linked to investment purchases, as demand for upscale short-term rentals becomes stronger with the growth in visitor numbers. But, as more people relocate to the city, from the UK, USA, and other Canadian provinces and towns, so the demand for residential housing has taken a swift upturn just lately. Reports that Calgary's MLS sales are due to show year-over-year increases during June are being welcomed by the local real estate industry. This is the first month since April 2010 that sales in condominium and single-family homes have shown such an increase, and this encouraging news has been well received by sellers, builders and developers throughout the Calgary area.

So, why not follow the excellent example set by HRH Prince William and his lovely bride, and come and discover Calgary and Alberta's many charms for yourself!

These new changes should help buyers purchase a new home with the confidence that they are well informed and protected against avoidable problems.