Helping Out For The Holidays

The holidays are supposed to be about giving, right? Yet, even with the best of intentions, we can still get so overwhelmingly busy during December that figuring out how to give sometimes falls far down on our to-do lists. To make giving simpler, we’ve compiled a few suggestions on where and how you can help out here in the Bay Area or to your local community.

Habitat for Humanity
Pitch in at one of the ReStore warehouses, or donate household items. The ReStores sell donated construction materials and home items to fund their program while providing quality home improvement items to the general public at discounted prices. Learn more

Help Kids Today
This terrific charity accepts your donated toys, cars, trucks, RVs, boats, or jet skis all in the name of helping underprivileged children. You can also help them by sponsoring a toy drive at work, adopting a family for the holidays, or sponsoring one special child. Learn more

Sacred Heart
Start a canned food drive at work, or in your neighborhood with friends and family. Include clothes or hygiene products as well, because they’re always in high demand during the holidays. Better yet, donate your time at a local food bank. They always need extra hands this time of year. Learn more

Second Harvest
Here’s another organization that can use your donations or muscle. You can start your own canned food drive, volunteer to sort food in the warehouse, or help distribute it to the Bay Area’s many needy families. Learn more

Volunteer Match
If you call some place other than Silicon Valley home, check out volunteermatch.org. This site is a handy way to get in touch with the local charities in your area to see how you can donate goods or volunteer your time. Learn more