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December 2018 - New York City
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Volunteer One-Night-of-Chanukah
Dorot
Date/Time: Sunday, December 2 or Thursday, December 6
Location: At the home of an elderly Dorot client -Upper East or Upper West side
Set aside one night of Chanukah to light the menorah with an elderly client of Dorot. Together, you and your family will create a memorable and meaningful Chanukah tradition, while fulfilling the mitzvot (commandment) of lighting Chanukah candles with a homebound elder who may have no family with whom to celebrate the holiday. Your family will be assigned to an elder and you call to schedule a time to visit and deliver a care package from Dorot filled with treats, a small menorah and candles.
Ages: Families with children age four and up are welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Each visit should last approximately a half hour.
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Adopt a Family for the Holidays
Catholic Charities
Date/Time: Now through December 8
Location: Catholic Charities NY, 1011 First Avenue, New York Become a Secret St. Nick for a New York family in need! You and your family can help Catholic Charities make sure children and their families receive the gifts they need most during the holidays this year such as coats, gloves, blankets and more. Catholic Charities NY wants to help the families we serve have one less thing to worry about so that they may have a cheerful holiday season. Last year Catholic Charities provided winter necessities to more than 800 families. Family sizes range from a family of one to as many as eight. Catholic Charities will give you a brief description of your "adopted" family and their needs. If you cannot adopt a family this year, we ask that you please consider a monetary donation that will be used to purchase gifts for our families this winter season. All donations are tax-deductible.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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St. Nicholas Shopping Project - Astor Place
Catholic Charities
Date/Time: Saturday, December 8 from 7am - 3pm and 11am - 5pm
Location: Astor Place Kmart, 770 Broadway, New York
Despite hard work that often includes holding more than one job, many New York residents do not earn enough to pay for food, shelter, and utilities. The needs of struggling families with children, the working poor, frail seniors, and other residents in our communities continue to grow. Catholic Charities wants to help the families we serve have one less thing to worry about and ensure that they have a cheerful holiday season!
Volunteers are needed to help support the St. Nicholas Project Shopping Day. This is a fun-filled day at the Kmart in Astor Place. Volunteers will be shopping for approximately 600 families on this day. Volunteers will be asked to help us "shop" at Kmart to select winter clothing items, process these items through the Kmart registers, and load everything onto Catholic Charities trucks for delivery.
Volunteers will:
- Shop for families (volunteers will receive a family profile and shop for winter items - Catholic Charities provides this budget). We are unable to guarantee that each volunteer will be able to shop for families (earlier shifts will have first priority).
- Help at the cash registers
- Bag and sort donation items
- Load trucks
- Provide other assistance as needed
Volunteers will be asked to assist in one or more of these areas. Kmart has changed its store layout, and we will depend on volunteers to help us with moving, bagging, and storing items. TEAM REGISTRATION: This is a great opportunity for corporate groups, school groups, friends, and family teams. If you wish to sign-up multiple people you can create a team -- however, you must first create your own log-in to do so. Click for CREATE-A-TEAM Instructions.
Ages: Families with ages nine and older are welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Up to six hours
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Community School District 17 Feast and Talent Show
Seeds in the Middle
Date/Time: Saturday, December 8, 10 am - 1 pm
Location: Community School District 17 Office, Maggie L. Walker Educational Campus, 1224 Park Place, Brooklyn
This is a special event held every year for families from schools in this district that spans Crown Heights, Flatbush and Brownsville, central Brooklyn. Volunteers are needed to help make and serve food, help with talent show, and bring special gifts and donations that are healthy and will make everyone happy! This event focused on children and families who come from difficult circumstances. Feel free to bring new toys, gently used toys, or clothes for any age in good condition. Please bring a delicious, fresh dish for their potluck. We are located in a food desert area, where access to fresh fruits and vegetables is limited. We may be making fresh orange juice, so children can help make that, too!
Ages: All ages are welcome with a parent
Time Commitment: Two hours at any time. Volunteers may also be needed to help with set-up and breakdown.
Contact: Nancie, info@seedsinthemiddle.org, 917.697.3745
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13th Annual - Mom's Christmas Stocking Campaign
Mom's Christmas Stocking
Date/Time: Sunday, December 9, 1 - 3pm
Location: Grassroots Fitness Project, 371 Amsterdam Avenue, second floor.
D. Wendy Strauss started this project in honor of her own mother. After her Mom passed away, Wendy found a request from her mom that she continue to fill a Christmas stocking for her each year, and to give it to a woman in need. Mom's Christmas Stocking fills upwards of 200 stockings for women and children each holiday season to be distributed to shelters in NYC through Women In Need (www.women-in-need.org). Volunteers are needed to purchase stocking stuffers for women and babies and to participate on event day; filling stockings and transporting bags of filled stockings to the final location before pick up.
Suggested stocking stuffer items include:
- Makeup
- Travel size toiletries, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant
- Feminine products
- Jewelry
- Hair accessories
- Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss
- Nail kits, emery boards, polish
- Socks, trouser socks, slipper socks
- Candy, chocolates, mints
- Specialty gift items, hats, gloves, slipper socks, pashmina scarves
- Pens, markers, notebooks, note pads, pocket calendars, date books
- Baby clothing such as bibs, socks, onesies
- Child safe toys, bottles, pacifiers, baby care kits, wipes, diapers
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Shop in advance at your convenience, "stuffing" event is two hours but drop in and stuff for as long as you'd like!
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Become a Santa!
Stockings with Care
Date/Time: Please fulfill your child's wish list and deliver gifts to the SWC Santa's Workshop in midtown Manhattan (location TBD) on Thursday, December 13 or Friday, December 14
Location: SWC Santa's Workshop in midtown Manhattan (location TBD) Stockings with Care is a nonprofit partnering with homeless shelters and assistance agencies to support struggling families. The goal this year is to provide Christmas magic for 1800 kids. "Santas" receive a list with 3 Wishes for one New York City child whose family either lives in a homeless shelter or is in danger of being homeless. Santas do the shopping for their child's 3 wishes, wrap the gifts, then drop them off at the Stockings with Care Santa's Workshop (a borrowed raw space). To be a Santa for a child in need, please fill out the form and let Stockings with Care know how many children you wish to sponsor and any specific comments, such as budget limitations (the average cost of an entire wish list is $100-$150). You may also specify if you have an age or gender preference from newborns to teenagers and we will see if we can match you up. Many companies offer employee gift matching programs. Please be sure to take advantage of this if your office offers a program! Every gift makes a difference in a child's Christmas.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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Food Pantry Volunteers
Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger
Date/Time: Ongoing, Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30am - 4 pm and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30am - 6 pm
Location: 2010 Fulton Street, Brooklyn (take the C train to Ralph Ave)
Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger needs volunteers year-round for a variety of roles, including stocking shelves, distributing food, bagging produce for seniors, creating birthday or holiday bags, etc.
Ages: Families with children ages 10 and older are welcome to assist with bagging produce, creating birthday and holiday bags and other tasks as needed. Individuals need to be 16 or older for general food pantry volunteering;
Time Commitment: Four-hour shifts
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Deliver Meals on Christmas Day
Citymeals on Wheels
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 25, morning - shifts vary
Location: Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx and Brooklyn
Citymeals on Wheels provides a continuous lifeline of nourishing meals and vital companionship to frail aged New Yorkers. Volunteers are needed to deliver a nourishing meal on Christmas morning, along with warm companionship.
Ages: Families are welcome to volunteer Time Commitment: Two to three hours
Contact: Sheila Clay, sheila@citymeals.org, 212.687.1234 |
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Holiday Toy Drive
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Date/Time: Now through December 31
Location(s): The Bronx Zoo, NY Aquarium, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo. Check individual sites for specific drop-off points Donations of new, unwrapped toys are being collected for the families of veterans and active duty members of the military and New York City families in need. From November 5 through December 31, drop off a new, unwrapped toy and you will receive a voucher for one free general admission ticket to the Bronx Zoo or New York Aquarium (up to 4 vouchers per family).
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies |
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Serve a Hot Meal to the Homeless
Manhattan Church of Christ
Date/Time(s):
- Saturday, December 8, from 10am - 2pm (Special Holiday Party)
- Saturday December 15, 22 and 29, from 10 am - 2 pm
Location: Manhattan Church of Christ, 48 East 80th Street
Volunteers help set up, prepare and serve meals, then break down and clean up. All shifts are family-friendly, and involve a set-up team to set tables and decorate, a service team to run trays of food back and forth to the guests, and a break down & clean up team. On Saturday, December 8, we will also be having our holiday party and gift bags will be distributed!
Ages: All ages, families are encouraged to volunteer together.
Time Commitment: Varies. The full lunch program is four hours but volunteers are welcome any time during the day.
Contact: Volunteers should email Rev. Carl Garrison to sign up to volunteer. carl@manhattanchurch.org
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A Special Collection!
Manhattan Church of Christ
Date/Time: Please contact Reverend Carl to coordinate drop off times
Location: Manhattan Church of Christ, 48 East 80th Street
The Manhattan Church of Christ is collecting the following items for community members who live marginally or are homeless. These items will be distributed at their holiday party in December. All items can be dropped off at the church:
- New socks, hats and gloves
- Small toothbrushes/toothpaste
- Deodorant, small soaps, shampoo, lotion
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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Holiday Toy Collection
Toys for Tots
Date/Time: At your convenience, until Christmas
Location: Toys for Tots partners with major retailers every year, and you'll find donation boxes all over the city. Toys for Tots is a well-know charity, established in 1991 by the US Marine Corps Toys For Tots Foundation. Their mission is simple: to provide a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. Every child can relate to the idea that they receive so many gifts for the Holidays, and yet some children in our community may not receive a special toy for Christmas.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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Letters to Santa
Macy's Believe Campaign - Make-A-Wish
Date/Time: Until December 24
Location: Any Macy's retail store This is the 10th year of Macy's Believe campaign benefiting Make-A-Wish. Kids of all ages can download a "letter to Santa" template from the Macy's website, and drop their stamped letter, addressed to Santa At The North Pole, in the Santa Mail letterbox at any Macy's retail store. For each letter received through December 24th, Macy's will donate $1 to Make-a-Wish, up to $1 million. Make-A-Wish provides magical, life-changing experiences for terminally ill children and their families.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
Contact: Click here to learn more.
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30th Annual Coat Drive
New York Cares
Date/Time: Now through February 1, 2019
Location: Donation sites are located across the city, in Police Stations, at major transportation terminals and at participating merchants. Check website for details on drop-off locations. You may also consider setting up a personal collection site/coat drive in your apartment building, church/temple, school or office. As the weather begins to get colder, New York Cares starts to distribute coats to our Community Partners. You may donate gently used coats at any one of the public donation sites ( here is an interactive map of drop-off locations) or you may start your own family coat drive. All coats need to be delivered to the New York Cares warehouse located in midtown. Recipients of the coats include churches, schools and shelters, all of which serve New York's most in-need populations. Both adult and child-sized coats are welcomed.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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Letters of Gratitude
Operation Gratitude
Date/Time: Ongoing
Location: Put all loose artwork and letters/cards (no individual envelopes) in a large envelope or box according to their recipient type, and ship to: Operation Gratitude ATTN: Letter Writing Program 21100 Lassen Street Chatsworth, CA 91311-4278 Write letters to our military, veterans and first responders. Operation Gratitude sends care packages to our active duty military, veterans, first responders, and new recruits. Each package includes a bundle of letters from the American people, thanking them for their service to our country. Package recipients tell us these letters, notes, and drawings are the most cherished items in their box. Visit the Operation Gratitude website for full instructions.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
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Top Three Holiday Giving Opportunities
Family-to-Family
The holidays are around the corner, and this the year national poverty relief nonprofit Family-to-Family wants to make it easier than ever for families with "more" to help families with "less" celebrate the season. Family-to-Family's programs help families, veterans, seniors, Holocaust survivors and refugees in need receive food, personal hygiene products and other basic life essentials.
Here are three easy - yet meaningful - charitable acts that families can do together:
Help your child be a giver with Give it Up - Ask your child to give up one gift they likely would have received this holiday season for a child with less. Here is how it works - take your child shopping for the gift, or set aside one present he or she received during the holidays. Then email moreinfo@family-to-family.org with your zip code and the number of family members participating, and Family-to-Family will send you the name of a recipient organization serving families in need. We ask that you call them to arrange a time to drop off your unwrapped gift(s). Include wrapping paper, tape and ribbon too! You'll then bring the gift to the organization we linked you to and the gift will be given to a mom or dad to give to their child as if they had bought it.
Stuff a Stocking for a child or grown-up need - Let your child be a stocking stuffer this year! Bring the family on a shopping trip for adult or child stocking goodies. Adult stockings can include gloves, socks, a scarf, personal hygiene items, nail polish, a deck of cards or a Sudoku book. Stockings for kids can have a stuffed animal, mittens, travel size games and puzzles, small toys, lip gloss, pencils or a jump rope. Be creative and thoughtful. When you've finished stuffing your stocking, email moreinfo@family-to-family.org and we'll link you with either a local shelter where you can bring it, or an impoverished community where you can ship it. Either way, an outreach worker will hand out your stocking to a mom or dad in need to give to their child, or to an adult in need! Last day to drop off stockings to a site near you is December 14. Holiday dinner baskets for struggling families in your town - Ask family or friends to join together and make baskets or bags of holiday dinner staples for families in need. It's simple! If you're making five or more baskets, first email us at moreinfo@family-to-family.org and we'll locate and link you up with a local food pantry that will give out your baskets. Then, ask each volunteer to shop for the items on a list here: https://www.family-to-family.org/holiday-giving/holiday-dinner-baskets/. Bring groceries to a central location, in either reusable grocery bags or a laundry basket. Then, volunteers from your group can drop everything off at the pantry we've linked you with. If you're making fewer than five baskets, we ask that you google "food pantry" along with your zip code to find a nearby pantry, and contact them directly about dropping off the baskets.
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Help Brighten the Holidays for Others - Adopt-a-Family
Do you and your family want to find an opportunity to make the holidays brighter for others? Many community organizations offer holiday food or toy programs to their clients. Here is a list of organizations you can contact to see how your family can help: "Adopting" a disadvantaged child or family at holiday time can inspire a sense of giving in your children. The Doing Good Together website also offers a great page full of ideas: |
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Giving Plates
Doing Good Together
Date/Time: Flexible
Location: Your own home or community location
Making some baked goods to bring along to a holiday gathering? You and your family can bake up some extra treats to share as a holiday gift with new or isolated neighbors, sick or stressed friends, or even service providers you meet on a regular basis, like the mail carrier or school bus driver. Then your family can design giving plates to place your home baked goodies on as part of your gift! Visit the Doing Good Together Design a Giving Plate for directions to make your plates and for additional ideas and reflection questions.
Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate
Time Commitment: Varies
Contact: mail@doinggoodtogether.org
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Shop Kind for the Holidays!
Whether you're shopping for birthday gifts, making your holiday gift list, or just looking for big-hearted books, games, and activities for your family, be sure to keep kindness in mind. DGT has compiled a variety of "kind vendors," and we've found some fun Amazon products that could turn online shopping into a big-hearted activity. Best of all, as an Amazon affiliate and having sponsored vendors, DGT benefits from these purchases as well. Want to become a Kind Vendor? Contact us and tell us about your big-hearted product! |
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| This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ (www.doinggoodtogether.org)
When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together.™ Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations.
© 2018 Doing Good Together™
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