December is a special month. It’s that time of year where we think of others. We visit family and friends, give gifts to our loved ones. It’s also a time of year when charities need our help the most – so they can help those in need as Christmas nears.
This year, I’m highlighting some of those charities. Both Local and National charities that you can donate to.
I’m also focusing on other ways you can help people within your community who lack the resources to have a Merry Christmas. Such as, low income families. The Homeless, living on the streets or in shelters. The elderly in nursing homes. Children suffering from cancer or other ailments that leave them spending Christmas in a hospital.
How Can You Help People In Need?
There are several ways you can help your fellow man. You can do the following:
I. DONATE
You can Donate Funds to some of the large, Well Known Charities:
- The Red Cross – redcross.org
- The Salvation Army – salvationarmyusa.org
- Samaritan’s Purse – samaritanspurse.org
- Shriners Hospital – shrinerschildren.org
- St. Jude Hospital – stjude.org
- Wounded Warriors – woundedwarriorsproject.org
- Tunnels for Towers Foundation – t2t.org
You can Donate Funds to your Local Community Charities:
- To a Church
- Soup Kitchen
- Homeless Shelter
- City Mission
- Food Pantries
You can Round-Up When You Shop at some stores. Wal-mart and some of your local grocery stores offer this opportunity during holidays.
You can also Donate Items:
- Clothing (lightly used & washed)
- Toiletries (hair brushes, combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant)
- Non-Perishable Food ( can good, pastas, canned meats, rice, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce)
Your local community charities and several of the national charities, such as, The Red Cross, Samaritans Purse, and the Salvation Army (through their GreenDrop program) accept these types of donated items. Many churches sponsor Christmas Gift Buying for needy and disabled children. The Church often has a “Want list” of items such children desire.
You can Donate Toys for children to Toys For Tots.
They are a national organization – toysfortots.org. They sponsor local toy drop-off boxes around your local community, typically during the month of December. These drop-off boxes are usually set up inside stores and businesses.
Petsmart sponsors Stuffed Animals that can be purchased for donation to children in local hospitals.
II. HOST A FUNDRAISER
You can Host A Fund Raiser for your favorite charity on FaceBook or Go Fund Me. People on social media are very generous. They love to help with a worthy cause, especially around Christmas.
III. VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME
If you have some free time before the holidays, you can volunteer at a local City Mission, Food Panty, or Soup Kitchen near you. Some organizations will allow you to help serve food, prep meals, and deliver premade meals to the needy.
IV. SPREAD THE WORD
And last, but not least, you can help Spread The Word about contributing to charities during this Christmas season. Many of us, our friends, family, and neighbors are so busy preparing for Christmas, we forget there are charities that help those who less fortunate than us. They need money or donated items to help those people. We forget there are people in need of a hot meal, warm clothes, and a place to sleep. We forget some people lack resources to provide Christmas gifts for their children.
We can help those people. All we need to do is add a Charity to our gift-giving this year.
Help spread LOVE this Holiday season.
Merry Christmas!
