Give Back This Holiday Season

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Tis the season! December and the holidays is a time to celebrate the spirit of giving. But who says you have to limit your gift giving to friends, families and coworkers? The holidays are also a great time to support local and national causes alike! Even better, with so many organizations to choose from, it’s easier than ever to support a cause that speaks to you personally.

At the same time, there are are so many organizations asking for help that it can be hard to decide who deserves your time and attention. To help you with this decision, we’ve listed a small handful of our own favorite local groups:

Capital Area Food Bank. The Capital Area Food Bank is on a mission to end hunger in the area. And to help do that, they distribute million of pounds of food a year! They'll be sponsoring multiple food drives with both schools and businesses during the month - and if you can’t make a planned event or if you’re too busy learn how to donate here.

Washington DC SPCA. Who doesn’t love helping adorable puppies and kittens? Our local SPCA is a wonderful group, and the perfect group to support to help ensure that local animals are given food, warmth, shelter and care during the holidays. If you’ve thought about supporting this group with your time - or even with your spare pennies! - now is the perfect time to do it! (Of course, we’d advise planning on helping these guys for more than a few weeks if you plan on volunteering with them - as any shelter staff member or volunteer will tell you, cute animals need help year-round!)

Children's National Health System Foundation. The holidays can be particularly rough for families in hospitals - and are especially heartbreaking when the patient is a child. The Children's National Health System Foundation exists to help find cures, treatment and help for families and children locally and across the globe. Any donation that you can give helps families and children fight illnesses and get them back home. Check out their website to learn how to donate.

These groups are just three examples of local organizations that are working to give back to the community this season - not to mention year-round! If these three don’t speak to your personally, though, have no fear. Thanks to websites such as greatnonprofits.org, it’s easy to look up organizations that are working out of Washington DC this season. With just a few clicks, you can find a group that you’ll feel good making a difference with!

What do you think - will you donate to one of these groups? Or did we not mention an organization that you personally love to support?

Thanksgiving Volunteer Opportunities

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Thanksgiving is a great time to enjoy time with friends and family. Every year we say what we are thankful for, as we have a day or two off work to relax and enjoy our time together. However, not everyone has a place to go on Thanksgiving. Washington DC has many organizations that raise money or collect donations for this specific time of year. Here are a few organizations that will let you give back this Thanksgiving.

Food and Friends

Food and Friends is a great organization that helps provide for the people with illnesses in the DC area. They have many great opportunities for you to give back around the holiday season. During Thanksgiving week (Nov 23rd-Nov 25th), they need help with food preparation and turkey box delivery. Kitchen shifts for food preparation are available between 8am-6pm and can last 2-3 hours.  

You can also volunteer with their Turkey Box Delivery. Delivers occur on Monday the 24rd and Tuesday the 24th so clients have time to defrost their turkey and fixings before Thanksgiving Day. The hours to volunteer are flexible and can be worked with the volunteer’s schedule. At the beginning of each shift, a detailed orientation will be held to educate you on the process. 

SOME (So Others May Eat)

The organization hosts holiday events for program participants. The volunteers assist with preparing and serving meals, games and decorations. As a volunteer, you can also help assist with assembling Thanksgiving dinner baskets. SOME also holds its annual Trot for Hunger beginning at 8:30am in West Potomac Park. This 5k fun run and family walk benefits the programs that SOME offers for the homeless women, children and men of DC.

These are just a few of the many great programs that are available throughout the DC area. You can find more Thanksgiving volunteer opportunities here.  We are very thankful for our friends, family and residents of The Louis. If you know of any other volunteer opportunities, please share them on our Facebook Page. We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving with loved ones this year.