SPUR Holiday Cheer Drive
It’s Giving Tuesday and we’re sharing a list of local charities that could use your support. If you’re in a position to donate or volunteer your time this holiday season, keep reading to learn more.
Beverly Bootstraps – Beverly Bootstraps provides critical resources to families and individuals so they may achieve self-sufficiency. They offer emergency and long-term assistance including: access to food, housing stability, adult and youth education, counseling and advocacy. They are community funded and supported through both donations and The Beverly Bootstraps Thrift Shop, located at 198 Rantoul Street in Beverly.
Community Play Workshop – A non-profit organization furthering the mission of The Children’s Piazza. The same indoor playspace you know and love, will continue to offer high-quality play experiences for little ones, in a clean and aesthetically pleasing environment that also provides hospitality and social connection for grown-ups. As a non-profit they will expand their offerings to include access for more members of our community by offering free and discounted passes through public libraries and donated scholarships to those in need, and by offering free developmentally-specific playgroups. Located in Peabody.
Citizens Inn – Citizens Inn has served families and individuals across the North Shore for over 35 years. They provide both a safe place to stay and a meal on the table, as well as offering tools to empower families and individuals to find permanent solutions to break the patterns of instability in their lives. Take part in their new Citizens Inn to Opportunity Campaign. Located in Peabody.
Community Giving Tree – Community Giving Tree’s mission is to help low-income families in northeastern Massachusetts raise healthy children by providing recycled clothing, baby equipment and other basic necessities. Locations in both Boxford and Lawrence. Holiday volunteer opportunities include donating your time, financial contributions and shopping for local holiday gifts.
Mission of Deeds – With the help of dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of the community, Mission of Deeds serves thousands of families and individuals throughout Middlesex and Essex counties, by providing beds, furniture, and household essentials free of charge for people in need. Located in Reading.
My Brother’s Table – Founded in 1982 and located in Lynn, My Brother’s Table is the largest soup kitchen on the North Shore and has provided 5,399,568 (and counting!) hot, free meals and outreach to men, women and children in need.
The Northeast Arc – The Northeast Arc helps people with disabilities become full participants in the community; choosing for themselves how to live, learn, work, socialize and play. They offer a wide range of services including offering a wide variety of programs including Autism Services, Day Habilitation, Deaf Services, Early Intervention, Employment Services, Family Support, Personal Care Assistance, Recreation, Residential and Transition Services. Headquartered in Danvers.
Pathways for Children – Pathways is a leading provider of education and care programs on the North Shore of Massachusetts serving over 500 children and their families from 14 communities. Their year-round programming, including Head Start and Early Head Start, serves children birth to age 13 and their families. They have centers in Gloucester, Beverly and Salem.
Plummer Youth Promise – Young people who leave the foster care or juvenile justice system without safe, stable, permanent family connections face grim outcomes, including high rates of homelessness, unemployment, early parenting and lack of education. Plummer Youth Promise is changing that by engaging families for each young person they serve while building their skills and community connections. Locations in Salem and Lawrence.
Project Home Again – Project Home Again provides low-income families, free of charge, with new and gently used household goods, furniture, and small appliances necessary to live with comfort and dignity. Located in Andover.
Runway For Recovery – Runway for Recovery is a a nonprofit redefining the breast cancer experience for families through events and programs that strive to provide normalcy amidst the unimaginable. They are here for those who survive — and for those who live on as legacies, because they know that breast cancer never just impacts one. Located in Newburyport.
SPUR – SPUR makes volunteerism easy and accessible by providing the platform, education, connections and support necessary to inspire and mobilize volunteers throughout the communities of Lynn, Marblehead, Salem and Swampscott. Take part in their Holiday Cheer Drive, where they work with school counselors, social workers, food pantry directors, and other social service providers to give winter essentials along with a few meaningful gifts to over 600 local children as well as adults experiencing homelessness.
Sweet Paws Rescue – Sweet Paws Rescue is a registered non-profit animal rescue based in Massachusetts. They are a grassroots, boots-on-the-ground, shelterless, foster-based and volunteer-powered organization. Since 2011, they have rescued over 7000 puppies, dogs and cats from the poorest counties in Mississippi and Alabama. They are also a New England resource for the abandoned and displaced, and animals seized in cruelty cases. Learn more about their Giving Tuesday fundraiser here.