Giving Back This Holiday Season
Those of us privileged enough to stuff our bellies full of turkey this Thanksgiving should also be considering how we can give back to those less fortunate this holiday season. This can take a variety of forms from shopping responsibly, giving donations to causes as gifts, giving some of your time to organizations for a single or a few events, committing to work with an organization for a longer amount of time, or just donating some money (if you can afford it, then it’s all about the benjamins). Keep in mind #GivingTuesday is coming up (it’s a national holiday campaign that many nonprofits use for fundraising efforts), so find an organization or cause you want to back this holiday season.
I’ve put together a list that is by no means a snapshot of everything — these are the organizations I’ve had contact with in one way or another. Unless stated otherwise, the nature of my relation to these organizations is that I’ve volunteered with them or have connected with them regarding volunteer opportunities.
Shopping Responsibly
For those of us who are planning the shopping list for the holidays (assuming you’re like me and don’t start the process until it’s holiday season), make sure you put your money where your mouth is. Take some time to think about where you are spending your money, what kind of businesses you want to support, and how you make sure the combine those two.
Someone passed along this list she had found on Facebook that has a list of business to boycott/back in terms of businesses that support do business with the Trump’s/Trump-free alternatives:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vu0Y0HvadMgG_LN7dF8W7M66oPCcx_nmSARQWirV7iY/edit?usp=sharing
Politics aside, supporting local business or individual artists/makers is always a good way to go. If you have any other tips for responsible holiday shopping, I’d love to add/link to them — please send my way.
Give Donations Instead of Gifts
This is one that I will personally be going for this holiday season. Everyone who I am buying gifts for is privileged and quite frankly will be just fine without their gifts. Instead, I will be making donations in the names of those folks. I am not planning on just surprising my family with that — I plan on laying the seed for that idea over this weekend and will make donations with organizations I think they will be interested in supporting, not just organizations that I support. Especially for my nephews and niece, I want to buy gifts that get donated to children in need who may not otherwise have much this holiday season.
Giving Your Time — One-Offs
There is no shortage of ways you can give time without having to make a long term commitment. Look through some of these organizations you can get involved with in NY. If you Google ‘nonprofits NY’ you can find much more expansive lists. These are purely some organizations that I’ve personally worked with or connected with.
NY Cares — requires orientation
NYCares is a great organization that is easily accessible and full of options. If you’re overwhelmed at where to start, check out their site and how they categorize ‘Ways to get involved.’ I think it’s a good breakdown to help get a sense of what causes you might be most keen on supporting based on your interests. They also give an amazing opportunity to connect with a lot of organizations around different causes so it’s definitely a great place to start. They also have a big coat drive that anyone can add to/partake in.
Bowery Mission has a lot of people reach out to it. There is an option to be an on call volunteer of sorts where you hear about when they need more people the day or within 24 hours — this is something I will be signing up for. You can also plan ahead and get organizations involved to sponsor, but on a personal level you can definitely join them to go hand out food to the needy.
92Y Serves — requires orientation
The 92nd St. Y created a volunteer arm and is currently focused on a number of interfaith projects going into 2017 (it’s a Jewish organization so there are events that are focused just on the Jewish community, but they do have projects that extend well beyond that). They have an MLK day project that will involve hundreds of volunteers with dozens of organizations.
City Harvest is focused on feeding the needy and eliminating food waste and you can get involved by running your own food drive (they come pick up non-perishable food over 100 lbs), collecting extra food at the Union Square Market on Saturdays to redistribute, or as a volunteer with one of the other projects they have throughout the year.
Covenant House — requires background check and orientation
Covenant House is a homeless shelter focusing on ages 16–20 and has facilities for both men and women. They have a variety of holiday events throughout the year and they have regular job readiness focused events. I have partaken in both the mock interviews and career panel and I do have to say they were both a wonderful experience.
Especially in a city like NYC, there is always a need for more blood donations. Donating blood is something that only takes 30–45 minutes (assuming you’re just giving blood — unfortunately my veins are too thin to do platelets). Regardless, bring some reading and the time breezes by and you could help save a life.
Giving Your Time — Longer Commitment
There are a variety of organizations that need mentors who are able to commit over a longer period. I have not personally done a mentoring program yet so cannot speak from personal experience, but iMentor was one that was recommended to me.
There are also a number of organizations that focus on providing free tutoring or educational focused after school services that prefer longer term commitment for consistency sake. I have not done one of these yet, but 826NYC is an organization that I have run a fundraiser for and I think has a fantastic focus and approach.
Donating Money
At the end of the day, just about every nonprofit needs more money. If you know what cause you’re interested in or know any specific organizations that are in line with your interests, try to donate if you can. There are going to be a lot of campaigns out there in the coming week or two so try and figure out where you want your money to make an impact.
Who Am I Supporting?
This holiday season I will be donating to two organizations that I am on the board of:
Equality Charter School, a fantastic school in the Bronx you can learn more about the school by checking out their site or reaching out to me with any specific questions.
Transfernation, an organization focused on food-waste elimination, specifically in a corporate context. If the company where you work has holiday events that usually have a lot of extra food, please go on the site and register your organization. If you want to support otherwise, you can donate here or you can sign up to volunteer here. Feel free to reach out with any specific questions.
What Did I Miss/Contact Info
If you want me to include any other ways of getting involved or want to work together on supporting organizations, please email me at eugene.leventhal@gmail.com.
I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season, and that those who can do something to brighten up the holidays of those less fortunate.
