Giving Back to the Community

Posted by Abbott Klar Real Estate on Friday, November 8th, 2013 at 6:53am

With Thanksgiving almost upon us and the holiday season rapidly approaching, now is the perfect time to give back to others less fortunate. Like the Grinch, reach deep down and let your heart grow three sizes this holiday season! Organize a food drive to help brighten spirits and fill stomachs. Donate clothing, like sweaters and warm pajamas, to help keep people warm as the weather continues to get colder. There are so many ways for you to help, here are some local opportunities for giving back to the community this Holiday season:

The Holiday Project

This organization has been serving communities across the country for 33 years. Every year there are millions of people who spend their holidays in hospitals, nursing homes, and other residential institutions. Many have outlived friends and do not have families, or their family is too far away to visit, leaving them to spend the holiday season alone. The Holiday Project organizes their volunteers to visit these institutions (often with gifts, decorations, treats, and music), to bring holiday spirit and joy to those who otherwise would be spending them alone. There is a DC-area chapter. For more information, please visit their website or contact them directly via email.

Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service

Want to volunteer this Holiday season, but don't really know what or how to help? Need someone to do the research for you, so you can devote all your time to the event? The Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center can help. They have active partnerships with over 100 local organizations and will help you find the right volunteer opportunity for you. There are a varity of activities from serving lunch to seniors to playing games with children at homeless shelters to knitting scarves and gloves for the homeless. Most projects range in time from 1 to 3 hours, but there are some that are longer. 

Salvation Army

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign. We've all been outside grocery or department stores and have seen the large red kettle and the volunteer ringing the bell. Please don't walk past them. If you don't have the time to go out and volunteer, then donating money is the easiest way to help. It doesn't have to be large amounts, any small bit can help. We all have plenty of loose change lying around our pockets, cars, couches, and homes. Take a few minutes to go through them and collect the change you have lying around. You can also donate online. The Salvation Army also collects donations of clothing, furniture, and household items. 

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Every year the American Red Cross helps soliders, veterans, and their families. During the holiday season, they organize the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. (They also organize blood drives, if you can, please donate. Blood saves lives and what's more charitable than saving a life?). As you are writing out all of your holiday cards to family and friends, spare a moment to write a card or two for the soliders who can't be home for the holidays, for the families who won't see their loved ones. The American Red Cross delivers these cards that bring a touch of holiday cheer to soldiers stationed overseas and in military hospitals, to their families, and veterans who fought to keep us safe. This would be a great idea for classrooms, for students to make homemade cards for soldiers. 

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue

People aren't the only ones who need help around the holidays, don't forget our four legged friends. Many people who foster pets are away during the holidays and unable to take care of the animals. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue is looking for volunteers willing to open their homes to these dogs for the holiday season. They also could always use more help during the adoption events the hold on weekends. If the Grinch could love a dog, you can too!

Food & Friends

Food & Friends is a local meal-delivery service helping those living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life threatening illnesses in the D.C. metro area. These guys never stop, open 6 days a week and 52 weeks a year. Even President Obama volunteered here on the National Day of Service and Remberence this year. Around Thanksgiving they sell pies, which are insanely delicious, to help raise money. The holidays are a busy time for them and they can always use volunteers, especially those with cars, to help get meals to those in need. 

Bread for the City

According to their website, 1 in 3 children will go to bed hungry tonight. That's a pretty scary statistic. Bread for the City is trying to change that. They provide medical care, social services, food, clothing, and legal aid for needy DC residents. During the holiday season, they roll out the Holiday Helpings program which helps to provide holiday meals to low-income families. They need volunteers to help organize and package donations. 

Toys for Tots

Run by the United States Marine Corps and United States Marine Corps Reserves, this is a well-known holiday charity. In fact, there are around 400 donation locations in Washington DC alone! Their mission is to collect new, unwrapped toys for children of all ages and distribute them as Christmas gifts for less-fortunate children. They believe no child should be denied the joy of the Christmas experience, a truly noble cause. Consider starting a collection drive at your office. Let your child pick out a toy at the store that they think another child would enjoy. It's a great way to get kids involved with giving back.

Capital Area Food Bank

The Capital Area Food Bank is a proud member of Feeding America, a nation-wide organization of over 200 participating food banks. In the DC-metro area, the CAFB has over 500 partner organizations that it helps distribute food to. This is another great option for office settings as they are always looking for donations of non-perishable boxed and canned food, household products, and hygenic items. In fact, our office at Prudential PenFed Realty is holding a food drive for the CAFB now through December 13th. You can even go online to their website to donate money. 

DC Holiday Pajama Drive

Lots of families have traditions of getting a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve. Started several years ago by a foster mother, the DC Holiday Pajama Drive's goal is to be able to provide a new set of pajamas to every child in DC in foster care this Christmas. That means collecting 1,000 sets of pajamas. They need all sizes from infant on up to adult xxl. Check out their Facebook page for information on donation sites, one of which is our office at Prudential PenFed Realty. For more information on foster care, please visit the DC government website. You can also drop them off at our office on Capitol Hill (216 7th ST SE).

These are just a few of the many ways you can give back this holiday season. Please feel free to search online for more opportunities. And please volunteer your time or make a donation. Anything you can contribute, no matter how small, helps immensely. Happy Holidays.

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