Photo courtesy of 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. Donate here.
The Children’s Piazza – The Children’s Piazza is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community-supported organization. Their playspace, programming, and subsidized services to families in need are made possible by donations. Located in Peabody. Donate here.
Citizens Inn – Citizens Inn has served families and individuals across the North Shore for over 37 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 that leads to homelessness. This Holiday Season, families in their shelter will receive gift cards to allow them to shop for their children’s holiday gifts with independence and dignity. Programs at Citizens Inn Haven from Hunger will also provide guests with toys for their children, nourishing groceries to cook special holiday meals at home, as well as offer an on-site community holiday dinner. Located in Peabody. Donate to their Holiday Giving Program.
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. With finances stretched to the limits, more and more families are struggling to purchase the necessities that we take for granted. Locations in both Boxford and Lawrence.
Help put a smile on some local children’s faces this holiday season by participating in the Community Giving Tree Annual Holiday Gift Collection, running for just 2 more days! Purchase an item (or items) off the above wishlist and drop off at one of the many community collection sites. Find the list here. Last year Community Giving Tree collected over 4,400 brand new gifts which they were able to give out to 1,100 children. If you don’t have time to drop off they also have an Essentials Amazon Wishlist and a Holiday Amazon Wishlist.
First R Foundation – At First R Foundation, children learn how to develop a love of reading. Each month, guest readers and presenters visit kindergarteners and first graders in Gloucester and Rockport, Massachusetts to read aloud to students, talk about their love of reading, and present a brand free, new, bestselling children’s book. The reading program, led by Pat Earle, delivers books that teach, entertain, and capture the imagination of a young and captivated audience. Launched in 2004, Earle helped fill a void left by critical spending cuts that eliminated library services in elementary schools. Donate here (tab on bottom of page).
It Takes a Village – This campaign, organized annually by Henry Bear’s Park (not a non-profit), donates holiday care packages to children in need throughout the local community. Their goal is to bring cheer to children in high risk environments including those experiencing homelessness who may not have access to quality playthings and educational materials. Each purchase of a care package is donated directly to one of their partner organizations. Since they began, they have donated more than 4,000 care packages. Donate here.
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. Donate here.
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 7,377,298 (and counting!) hot, free meals and outreach to men, women and children in need. This year My Brother’s Table is collecting holiday gift cards to help make the holidays a little more cheerful for their guests. Donations placed on this campaign page will be used to purchase gift cards in $20 denominations to local grocery stores, dollar stores, CVS, and Wal-Mart to give to their guests for Thanksgiving and on Christmas Day.
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 but serving 190+ cities and towns. Donate here or shop with them at parcels–a unique store selling products made by, or sold through companies owned by, people with disabilities or autism. Located in the Liberty Tree Mall 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. Help local families on the North Shore and in Cape Ann provide gifts for their children this holiday season through their Giving Joy Campaign.
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. Donate here.
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. Donate here. Many of the donations they collect today will be used to purchase mattresses, which is currently the organization’s biggest need.
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. Through their Family Grants, Runway funds families who have lost a loved one to breast cancer in order to reduce financial and logistical burdens and bolster families with psychological, social, and financial support. In addition, they fund those who are living with stage IV, metastatic, breast cancer. Located in Newburyport. Donate here.
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 18,000 puppies, dogs and cats from the poorest counties in Mississippi and Alabama. They are also a New England resource for abandoned and displaced animals. Donate here.