Affordable Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season
Giving back doesn't have to mean spending a fortune. There are plenty of ways to make a difference without breaking the bank. Plus, while you're busy spreading love, you'll find yourself feeling better about yourself too, knowing that you made a positive impact.
Volunteer-
Volunteering is one way to make a difference while helping others. You don't necessarily have to work directly with children or animals to make a positive impact. Volunteering at a soup kitchen, nursing home or homeless shelter makes you feel good about yourself and helps others too.
We will go into more depth on different ways you can volunteer your time to help many different charities.
Donate clothing, toys, or household items you do not use anymore-
There are organizations such as Goodwill and Salvation Army that collect donated goods and distribute them to local charities.This is a very simple way to give back while also benefitting you in more than one way. You get to give back to those in need while clearing up space in your home. Donating things that are of no use to you anymore can change the lives of others in need.
Give blood-
The American Red Cross collects blood donations throughout the year. To find a donation center near you, go to redcrossblood.org.
You can go to redcrossblood.org under common concerns to clear up any questions or concerns you have about the process of giving blood, eligibility, and more to calm your nerves if you are feeling anxious or nervous about the process.
Organize a fundraiser-
Just because you cannot donate as much as you would like this holiday season does not mean you cannot encourage others to donate.Organize a fundraiser and encourage your peers to give this season and make a difference with your philanthropy efforts. Your fundraiser can be raising money for anyone or anything you find needs extra funds or help this holiday season to do their job as best as they can.
Adopt an animal-
This one is to give back and create a little more joy in your life this holiday season. The ASPCA works tirelessly to protect animals from cruelty and neglect. From fighting against puppy mills and factory farms to advocating for stronger laws protecting pets, the organization strives to ensure every animal gets the love and attention it deserves. This holiday season, adopt a furry friend and help an animal in need.We know it is not possible for everyone to adopt an animal but if you are thinking about adding another member to your family, consider adoption over purchasing from a breeder. Many rescue facilities are full and struggle to keep up with the high demand for food and animal supplies. By adoption an animal, you can relieve the stress of these facilities little by little.
Pack meals for children-
Get involved with the Feed My Starving Children Foundation, they help provide nutritious meals to hungry kids around the world. Every day, volunteers hand-pack scientifically formulated meal kits for children living in extreme poverty. It doesn't matter where you live—you can help make a difference today, Feed My Starving Children does a great job making this accessible for everyone to participate and help their mission with many locations to choose from as well as many dates and times to participate.
Go to FMSC.org to find out how you can volunteer and donate.
Wrap presents-
Wrapping gifts is something that many forget about while donating gifts during the holiday season. It may seem like something small to you, but the low-income families that are receiving these holiday gifts do not have the means to buy excess things like wrapping paper or gift bags.By donating your time and wrapping these gifts that have been donated before they are distributed makes it just that much easier for families in need.
Donate children's gifts-
This one does require spending money, but just $20 spent will make a huge difference in a child's life. If you are having trouble finding out what to buy or do not know where to donate your gifts once you have purchased them, google is a great resource; search "gift donation drop off near me," and many different resources will come up.
Another great resource is Santa CAN.
Santa CAN is an online gift registry that helps children in the foster care system request presents for Christmas. You can browse the site to see exactly what specific children want for Christmas so that they can receive the perfect present.
The website allows you to send a donation to one of the children via PayPal or Amazon Smile. All proceeds go directly to the child and his/her family. This is a very simple way to donate just simply go on the website and click on a child to purchase their gift for them, and that is all. Gifts range from basketballs to scooters to electronics. There are many different price points to choose from.
Donate to Amazon Wish lists-
Amazon has created a feature where people can add items to their wish lists, and others can view and purchase things directly through their lists that will be sent right to them.You can join AmazonSmile or simply google "amazon wish lists to donate to" either of these options is extremely easy and allows you to do holiday shopping for teachers, hospitals, animal shelters, and more!
Run a race-
Stay active during the holiday season while supporting great causes. Take part in a holiday fundraising race. There are large and small races all around the country that you can participate in that support numerous different charities of your choice.
For example, many participate in the New York City Marathon, run for a cause, and create a team to raise money for a certain charity. On a smaller scale, you can search for nearby races you can get involved in near your hometown. The arthritis foundation does a jingle bell run in many different states; go to Arthritis Events | Jingle Bell Run 5K to see if there is a jingle bell run in your state!
Use your talents/hobbies to help-
If you love crafting and are looking for ways to give back, there are plenty of opportunities out there. From knitting sweaters to crocheting pillows, making gifts is a great way to help others while having fun.Here are some ideas to get you started:
• Create something special for someone else. Maybe it's a scarf knitted for a friend battling cancer or a blanket crocheted for a child in foster care. The same thing is needed for these items as well. Make sure you let them know what materials you used to make these items.
• Make handcrafted items like soap, lotion, candles, and bath salts. You could even make your own laundry detergent! Try to use natural ingredients and ensure you have put ingredients information somewhere on the package or with the item so people know what it contains.
Holiday cards-
Sometimes people are stuck in a hospital during Christmas and might not have any family or friends to visit, or they are not close enough to be able to join them in the hospital for the holidays. This discourages people and may even have an effect on their health due to their emotional state. By sending an encouraging letter, it can brighten their day tremendously and add some holiday cheer to their day.Two organizations that make it easy to donate your words as part of a charitable act on a budget are GirlsLoveMail.org and AmillionThanks.com. Both groups allow you to select a cause and choose a word count limit. Then, you simply print off the template, fill it out and mail it.
Another easy way to do this is by making or purchasing your own cards and dropping them off at a local hospital or assisted living center. Small acts of kindness like these do more than you would think.
Give away food to the homeless-
This may feel like something that is not the biggest help, but any meal or snack when you do not have the means to purchase any on your own would be greatly appreciated. This is something really easy you can do on your own with little to no preparation. There are many different ways you can go about doing this. Here are some ideas.
-Individually wrap meals and pass them out. Make a delicious meal and pre-package them to give out around your town or city. Homemade food is always appreciated.
-Package up non-perishable food items that do not need to be prepared, for example, chips, cookies, crackers, etc. This way you provide snacks, and they will be able to save any food items and eat them when they choose.
-Go to a local restaurant and order burgers or sandwiches and pass them out. Even a fast-food restaurant if you want to be able to help more people and be able to purchase more meals.
Donate to help make sick children's wishes a reality-
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a very popular foundation that helps families whose kids are battling life-threatening illnesses. This holiday season, donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and help kids and their families fight what they are going through and try to remain happy and positive.To donate to the foundation, go to their website and simply click donate and choose how much you would like to donate!
Group giving-
We talked about organizing a fundraiser and encouraging people to donate. This is the same idea but on a smaller, simpler scale where you will create a group with your friends, family, co-workers, community, etc., and volunteer together.This is a great idea to get people involved because many times, people want to volunteer but do not know where or when they can go to help an organization. Creating a group to volunteer with helps solve this issue because now you have a whole group of people doing research on how you can help and encourage each other to give back more. A group dynamic helps tremendously when volunteering. The more, the merrier!
We hope that these 15 ways to give back while on a budget allow you to give back this holiday season. There are countless more ways, big and small, to give back and help people in need this holiday season. While you are enjoying the holidays with your friend and family, remember those who are not as fortunate as you and consider giving back to them to help them have a better holiday experience. Fundraising
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