While it’s October now, the holiday season is right around the corner. The holiday season is a time when the majority feel a strong desire to be more charitable and help others. It’s a great time of the year to help your community and be there for the less fortunate. Here’s what you need to know about giving during the holiday season.
Donating Food
One of the most popular ways to give back to the community during the holiday season is by donating food. This is a great way the help people in your community, but there are some things you need to know first.
Before donating, ask the organization you’re donating to what they need. Oftentimes, food drive organizations are given a whole lot of what they don’t need. It’s best to give easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat foods.
Typically, they’ll be looking for items such as peanut butter canned meats, cereal, canned or dried fruit, canned vegetables, or macaroni and cheese. Choose more nutritious forms of the food you’ll be giving and be sure to check the use-by or expiration date. Also, it’s best to avoid foods in glass containers or damaged packaging.
Volunteering
Although there are other less fortunate than other, at times it feels that we don’t have anything to give. When you’re unable to give food or money, your time is always something that will be appreciated. Taking the time to volunteer can have a big positive impact on your community and the less fortunate.
When volunteering, it’s important to start planning early. Now is a great time to start looking for how you would like to volunteer. By setting it up early, you’ll be able to plan your busy holiday schedule around it. Much of the time, volunteers skip or miss their time to volunteer due to poor planning. It is important to not let down the organization that you’re helping out and keeping your commitment to them.
There are also a ton of ways to volunteer during the holiday season. Many opt for clothing drives, food drives, or volunteering in the soup kitchen. However, there are lesser-known ways to volunteer that are just as important and impactful. This includes adopting a child or a family for the holidays, building homes, visit a senior home, online volunteering, helping animal shelters, and much more!
Money Donations
If you would prefer money during the holidays, there are a few ways you can donate. Before writing any check, it’s essential to do your reach on an organization to ensure that it aligns with your core values and is a legit organization.
Besides writing a check to your favorite charity, there are ways to have a direct impact on people in need. For instance, you can pay off someone’s layaway by visiting a local store like Wal-mart, you can adopt a child off an angel tree and buy them gifts, contact local schools and ask to pay off children’s unpaid lunch accounts, and even donating restaurant or grocery store gift cards to local high schools for homeless students or those in need.