Hello and Merry Christmas! I originally didn't have anything planned as far as holiday posts go other than Winter Chill, which I hope you enjoyed, but I've been wanting to do a post like this for months. I figured what better time to ask people to do something nice than Christmas? This year has arguably been a terrible year for most people, but what always emerged from the terrible situations I saw was a sense of humanity and unity in the face of uncertainty and devastation. The holidays aren't fun for everyone and some people have a really tough time with this final part of the year and I wanted to do my part in trying to contribute to something worthwhile, so I made this post.
I didn't want to focus on the traditional holiday stuff with gift guides and the like this year and other than a couple of DIY For Cheaper posts based off of gifts I made, there isn't going to be much talk about the holidays. I wanted to post something a bit more meaningful than the usual holiday fluff. So I put together a small list of fundraisers for some of the tragedies that happened this year and include some helpful resources to a few causes that I support. I know I left a lot of things off the list so if there are any you feel I should have included, please link them to me in the comments. If you can help monetarily, that'd be great. If you'd prefer to sign a few petitions, that's awesome too. If you can only share this post in hopes that someone else will be able to help, I'd love that as well. I'd also like to keep this up so that if you're unable to help now but would like to at a later date, you can refer back to this post.
Before I get to the charities though, let me first advise that you do your homework before giving your money or resources to a charity. The big ones I've heard that rob people or don't distribute their funds properly aren't on this list nor will they be if I can help it, but there are tons of smaller charity funds that end up stealing from people. Unfortunately, unless the charity makes a big mistake or wrongs enough people to go viral, they'll likely slip through the cracks and people won't find out until its too late. I don't want to recommend somewhere to you that ends up taking everyone for a ride. I got most of these lists from known organizations and websites that do thorough investigations before recommending charities so as of now, the ones on this list have the green light. I still recommend checking before making a donation just to make sure everything's still legit. ProPublica has a pretty good list of guidelines to follow if you'd like to donate to a charity and I recommend reading it if this is your first time donating.
1. Hurricane Irma recovery efforts in Puerto Rico
I didn't want to focus on the traditional holiday stuff with gift guides and the like this year and other than a couple of DIY For Cheaper posts based off of gifts I made, there isn't going to be much talk about the holidays. I wanted to post something a bit more meaningful than the usual holiday fluff. So I put together a small list of fundraisers for some of the tragedies that happened this year and include some helpful resources to a few causes that I support. I know I left a lot of things off the list so if there are any you feel I should have included, please link them to me in the comments. If you can help monetarily, that'd be great. If you'd prefer to sign a few petitions, that's awesome too. If you can only share this post in hopes that someone else will be able to help, I'd love that as well. I'd also like to keep this up so that if you're unable to help now but would like to at a later date, you can refer back to this post.
Before I get to the charities though, let me first advise that you do your homework before giving your money or resources to a charity. The big ones I've heard that rob people or don't distribute their funds properly aren't on this list nor will they be if I can help it, but there are tons of smaller charity funds that end up stealing from people. Unfortunately, unless the charity makes a big mistake or wrongs enough people to go viral, they'll likely slip through the cracks and people won't find out until its too late. I don't want to recommend somewhere to you that ends up taking everyone for a ride. I got most of these lists from known organizations and websites that do thorough investigations before recommending charities so as of now, the ones on this list have the green light. I still recommend checking before making a donation just to make sure everything's still legit. ProPublica has a pretty good list of guidelines to follow if you'd like to donate to a charity and I recommend reading it if this is your first time donating.
1. Hurricane Irma recovery efforts in Puerto Rico
I got this list from AJC and there are a few charities on the list that I didn't include here, but here are a few:
-United for Puerto Rico
-Save the Children
-ConPRmetidos
If you'd like to find other YouCaring or GoFundMe accounts to help individual families or regions, you can start by searching the tags #PuertoRico, #MariaPR, or #PrayforPuertoRico on Twitter and see what you find. Again, don't forget to do your due diligence before donating anything.
-United for Puerto Rico
-Save the Children
-ConPRmetidos
If you'd like to find other YouCaring or GoFundMe accounts to help individual families or regions, you can start by searching the tags #PuertoRico, #MariaPR, or #PrayforPuertoRico on Twitter and see what you find. Again, don't forget to do your due diligence before donating anything.
2. Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Houston
GHCF Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
Feeding Texas Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort
Houston Humane Society
Feeding Texas Hurricane Harvey Relief Effort
Houston Humane Society
3. Hurricane Maria/Irma recovery efforts in the islands
I know I didn't include all of the islands that were hit, but these seemed to be the ones hit the hardest and/or mentioned the least now that the immediate firestorm has died down.
Barbuda--Barbuda Recovery Conservation Trust Fund, Official Barbuda Relief Fund, Barbudan Relief, Cleaning and Rebuilding Effort Mass Post
British Virgin Islands--Hurricane Irma BVI Relief, Virgin BVI Community Support Donation Appeal
Dominica--Dominica Hurricane Maria Relief Fund, Dominica Relief, official list from Dominica on all supplies needed
US Virgin Islands--21 US Virgin Island Relief Fund
4. Mexico earthquake survivors
Vox put up a list of many of the places you can go donate to those affected by this year's hurricanes and earthquakes and I didn't include all of them so that you'd check out the source I got them from, but here are a few:
International Disaster Relief Fund
GlobalGiving Mexico Earthquake Relief Fund
UNICEF Mexico
Oxfam Relief Fund for Earthquake in Mexico
GlobalGiving Mexico Earthquake Relief Fund
UNICEF Mexico
Oxfam Relief Fund for Earthquake in Mexico
5. California wildfire survivors
Fundly has an awesome post on all the ways you can help the survivors of the wildfires in California. Many options are for California residents who want to help others, but I'm going to include some donation links for different fundraisers I found. The ABC7 affiliate in California has a bunch of links as well on how you can take action and help out. Many of these are also for other Californians, but there are quite a few things that those who live outside of the state can do.
Fundly California Fire Relief Fund
Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund
Sonoma County Resilience Fund
Help 40 Families Get Back on Their Feet
6. Suicide prevention + hotline volunteering
Fundly has an awesome post on all the ways you can help the survivors of the wildfires in California. Many options are for California residents who want to help others, but I'm going to include some donation links for different fundraisers I found. The ABC7 affiliate in California has a bunch of links as well on how you can take action and help out. Many of these are also for other Californians, but there are quite a few things that those who live outside of the state can do.
Fundly California Fire Relief Fund
Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund
Sonoma County Resilience Fund
Help 40 Families Get Back on Their Feet
6. Suicide prevention + hotline volunteering
The holidays can be a rough time for those who've lost others to suicide, those who are going through something or those who don't have anyone around. If you have your own experience dealing with or overcoming suicidal thoughts, you'd be a great person to help those still fighting. HealthyPlace has an article up on how to go about becoming a suicide hotline volunteer, and another on how to help a suicidal person. I've battled suicidal thoughts a number of times throughout my life, almost constantly during extreme depressive episodes, and attempted it twice. That's not a badge of honor or a list of accolades, that's just me saying I understand. If you're in need of help, here are a few hotlines and websites you can contact. Please don't be ashamed to ask for help. I've had to call a suicide hotline myself and the volunteer I got was patient, kind and more than generous with her time. She was there for me when I desperately needed it and gave me enough strength to keep pushing. If you see someone struggling, reach out.
PRS CrisisLink
IMAlive
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
Network for Good Suicide Prevention
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
7. LGBTQIA+ teens and hotline volunteering
Much like the holidays are rough for those going through something, having a bad time with family or don't have others around, they can also be tough for LGBT teens, especially those who don't have a supportive family or aren't yet out. I wanted to include some resources on the off chance someone needing an ear stumbles across this blog and wants to find someone who understands them and won't judge. For allies, this would be a good time to do a little volunteering; a young adult in the process of coming to terms with themselves and learning to live in their truth can be extremely difficult and they shouldn't have to go through all of that alone.
The Trevor Project
Helpful Resources for LGBT+ Youth and Supporters
LGBT National Youth Talkline
HealthyPlace LGBT Help and Support Groups
8. Planned Parenthood
I wanted to include this organization because it's been a large target of the defunding efforts introduced by the current presidential administration. It's a gateway into the larger issues, healthcare and women's health as a whole, but this is a post for help, not to get overly political. Planned Parenthood has helped so many women over the years, myself included, with family planning and birth control, pregnancy tests, safe options for abortions (which I know is a sticky subject) and helped prevent a larger amount of STDs by openly advocating for safe sex. As a teen, the fact that Planned Parenthood had a jar of condoms at their front desk for anyone was funny, but I took advantage of being able to get condoms, no questions asked, a number of times. As an adult, however, I can fully appreciate the lack of judgment I received, the options I was given at both PP and the local teen health clinic--which was kind of like the younger sibling to PP--and the employees' dedication to my health. The organization does a lot of good, and I'd love to do what I can, even if it's just sharing a link on a site barely anyone reads LOL, to keep the word out about Planned Parenthood.
Donation Landing Page
9. Las Vegas terrorist attack fundraisers
There are only two links here, but one of them is to the landing page of the GoFundMe accounts started by families of the victims, both those who were injured and the burial costs of those who died, so you can donate to whichever you'd like. Some have completed their fundraisers while others are still ongoing. I'm going to link to the main fundraiser as well as the landing page.
Las Vegas Victims' Fund
Las Vegas Terrorist Attack Fundraisers
10. Helping the homeless
The need for better/more shelters to accommodate the homeless is never more apparent to me than during the winter. The temperatures are low enough to be life-threatening, many don't have blankets or even cardboard to protect them from inclement weather, and many cities have ruled it illegal for the homeless to take shelter in different parts of cities so they don't have many places to go. Unfortunately, hard times don't discriminate and homelessness can happen to anyone. The elderly, sick, retired veterans, mentally ill and even children often end up homeless. It's something that deserves so much more attention than it receives. Contacting local organizations to find out how you can assist local shelters would be a good start, but educating ourselves on how to help prevent it would also be a good start so here are some resources:
SAMHSA Homeless Programs and Resources
9 Ways to Help the Homeless
VOA Assisting Homeless People
11. Ending childhood hunger/supporting food banks
This one is extremely important to me as more than a few times, I was a hungry child. I didn't starve or go days without eating--ironically, that didn't come until I was an adult lol--but I went without more times than I should have. It's a commonly repeated fact at this point, but the waste restaurants alone throw away could significantly dampen, if not end, childhood hunger in America entirely. Starting out in foodservice and building my career at least partially in that industry confirms this for me, which is something I'd like to contribute to decreasing in the future. I'm including a few links and resources here for different organizations specifically geared to helping with food banks and ending childhood hunger around the world. The Spruce has an article that mentions a few other organizations I didn't include here, including Meals on Wheels,
Dancember @ Convoy of Hope
No Kid Hungry
Global FoodBanking Network
Feeding America
Action Against Hunger
12. Sexual assault resources
I'm not going to include all of the resources here because there are a lot of similarities between the lists, but check out RAINN, The Daily Dot and Stop It Now for a much more thorough look into the resources available for survivors of sexual assault. There's a link to support those in the LGBT community who've suffered a sexual assault as well as a link for male survivors of sexual assault.
RAINN Chat and Hotline
Safe Horizon
Anti-Violence Project
Men Can Stop Rape
13. Current petitions that could use your signature
Now if you've already done your part this year and have charity fatigue, which is completely fine, then just keep this post in mind for when you can donate again. I don't want this to come off as pressuring because it isn't. If you've already donated, can't donate anymore or simply don't want to, that's totally okay. I just wanted to make a post that isn't about the commercialism of the holidays and encourages the Good Samaritan in all of us. It's impossible for any one of us to help everyone going through a rough time so charity fatigue these days is quite easy to get, but the possibility that just one of us can help just one other person makes it a lot better. The kindness and generosity of others is something so desperately needed--and so often misused--in today's times but I'd love to do my part in showing others that we're still out there and we still want to help.
If any of these charities shuts down or is later deemed to be fraudulent in any way, let me know and I'll remove it. If you'd prefer to help your local community instead, search for your city on different donation sites to see if there's anything there, check the hashtags for your city on social media and see if there are any donation funds or individual families needing assistance, or ask organizations in your area if they're aware of any charities you can donate to. You can also volunteer at local food banks or shelters; they're usually in need of extra hands and I'd rather you spend your day with others than being depressed at home. If you need any help getting through the holiday season and don't have anyone, don't be afraid to use the hotline and websites I mentioned here.
Thank you for reading all of this and spending a little time with me today. Whether you decide to give your time, money, belongings or a little space on your newsfeed/social media page from anything I mentioned in this post, thank you. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it and I'll see you soon.
If any of these charities shuts down or is later deemed to be fraudulent in any way, let me know and I'll remove it. If you'd prefer to help your local community instead, search for your city on different donation sites to see if there's anything there, check the hashtags for your city on social media and see if there are any donation funds or individual families needing assistance, or ask organizations in your area if they're aware of any charities you can donate to. You can also volunteer at local food banks or shelters; they're usually in need of extra hands and I'd rather you spend your day with others than being depressed at home. If you need any help getting through the holiday season and don't have anyone, don't be afraid to use the hotline and websites I mentioned here.
Thank you for reading all of this and spending a little time with me today. Whether you decide to give your time, money, belongings or a little space on your newsfeed/social media page from anything I mentioned in this post, thank you. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it and I'll see you soon.
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