What's your favorite holiday DONATION?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Zoosermom has a great thread about food banks and it made me think of one of my favorite places that you could donate some much-needed financial support, <strong>if it applies to your family</strong>. That is, your old family cemetery. </p>

<p>Do you know where your grandparents are buried? Your great-grandparents? Well, if they are buried in a cemetery attached to a church, or a cemetery run by a non-profit, chances are those organizations are having a hard time keeping up with the maintenance fees. Check it out. </p>

<p>If your family decides to make a charitable donation in lieu of receiving one more cashmere scarf or pair of leather driving gloves, where would you choose to make it?</p>

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<p>A home for abused children sets up a Christmas tree in a local mall upon which are the first names of kids, their age, and their Christmas list. We love shopping for individuals and making someones holiday wish come true. Since we no longer have any young ones in the family, getting every gift on the list gives us a relatively cheap thrill. Though, one year, when a sixteen year old wanted a Mickey Mouse bed quilt, H and I went a mad chase around town desperately tracking down that thing. There was just something so poignant a about that specific request. </p>

<p>The cash donation goes to a local homeless shelter.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reminder…it’s off to the mall next week.</p>

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<p>We pick a family, identified by our local paper, and do what we can, whether it’s paying their electric bill, buying clothes, bikes, food, or home repairs.</p>

<p>Camps for kids with epilepsy (we pay for 10 to attend camp over the summer) and the families needing assistance with medical expenses for epilepsy related costs.</p>

<p>The kids all send packages to troops. The boys have been quite creative!! Yeah, VERY creative!! : )</p>

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<p>And you don’t need to have money to donate. Donating time to help an elderly neighbor or taking your kids to the local Senior home to cheer the Seniors up is always thoughtful. Our Temple’s USY goes to the Senior Homes throughout the year. I remember when my son first went - he was young and scared to death (sometimes they can look and sound scary to young ones - LOL). But now he understands the importance of just bringing Joy to someone.</p>

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<p>Food for the food bank is good, but giving dollars goes much further. The FB can buy in bulk & buy what they’re missing. I donate on line to one in my area.</p>

<p>Teen gift drive run by the local PTSA BOD. Teens need Santa, too.</p>

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<p>Our church partners with social service agencies in Newark to identify families that need help. We typically adopt one and buy presents, most of which are winter clothing and a few toys for the kids. This year, I’m out of town on business and have other obligations, so I cleared our local Target out of youth L & XL winter coats that I’m donating. </p>

<p>Our school district also collects toys & backpacks for kids in our own town that is handled by the social workers. Given the economy, there are many kids that are going to have a light Christmas if people don’t donate.</p>

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<p>I like the idea of donating coats to kids who need them as NJ2011mom does. Can’t think of much worse than not having a coat in the winter.</p>

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<p>We donate $$ to local organizations that provide food and shelter. We figure operating funds are harder to come by than food gifts. Also donate clothes to the local interfaith coalition, who then distribute them to families in need. I’d rather see good clothes (i.e., suitable for work or church) go there than sell them at a thrift shop. One of our youth groups at shul is collecting hotel toiletries for a women’s shelter. With all of DH’s travel, we have bags and bags of the stuff, even after we keep a supply for our own needs.</p>

<p>DH donates to his HS debate program, which was instrumental in lifting him out of a bad home situation and getting him on a better path. We also send a donation to the rescue group from which we adopted our dog.</p>

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<p>We have one here called “Warm the Children”. They collect money to buy winter coats, boots, etc for needy families. We donate to that one EVERY year.</p>

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<p>I like the books for kids donation (this year we gave to the library instead). Kids need food for their minds as well as the physical stuff.</p>

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<p>More of an end-of-the-school-year donation, but we hauled several boxes of SAT, AP and SAT subject test books to S2’s HS college/career center. The guys didn’t write in them, knowing we’d pass them on to cousins and/or school, so they were in great shape for others who would find them useful.</p>

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<p>D2 is involved with a children’s cancer society. I am having a company holiday party at my place, so I am going to ask people to bring a toy or donate 10.</p>

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<p>Ask your friends to clean out their pantry and put any unopened items you won’t use/haven’t used in the past 6 months in shopping bags and email you to pick it up.
In no time you’ll have a trunkful to donate to the nearest food bank.
I suggest to donate sodas/sugary drinks unused from summer picnics and any food you won’t use in the near future.
Make it easy for your friends to donate food.</p>

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<p>We gave up exchanging presents with each other @5 years ago and have been donating food to a food bank instead ever since.</p>

<p>I like the OP’s suggestion of donating money to the cemetary. Our family has been very active in spending time in nursing homes as volunteers, making and serving food at soup kitchens and also delivering food to people in their homes. And donating lots of clothes, home items and winter coats. One year we made a large laundry hamper for a single mother and decorated it and gave with it laundry soap, paper towels, washcloths and bath towels, clothes & pajamas for her children, toys and school suppplies, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Her gratitude was in her heartfelt thank you note. We never met her, just knew we had to help her when we read a newspaper article about her and how she was using her kitchen sink filled with ice as her refrigerator. It was at that moment I knew we had to help in some way.</p>

<p>My younger S is also involved in a charity that gives books to needy children…</p>

<p>We try to give of ourselves and our time all year long, not just in December. It’s amazing how many people are so grateful for a little bit of your time or a small item. It is in these moments when I realize how much more important it is to give than to receive.</p>

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<p>I do some pro-bono work with the kids in a battered women’s shelter. Those kids need holiday toys more than I’ve ever seen anyone need holiday toys. If you can find one around you and donate toys, they will be loved.</p>

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<p>We have adopted families in the past and given presents to the entire family. That has been one of the most meaningful experiences for our family.</p>

<p>This year our church is supporting the tradeasone.org organization. You buy a product that you might normally buy, and it is made by someone in a developing country, and the money goes to them as ‘fair trade’. </p>

<p>We also always participate in the Angel Tree program, to provide gifts for children, typically that have a parent in prison.</p>

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<p>My H and I coordinate 2 food drives a year for our scout troops. I donate to Toys for Tots and donate used clothing and books to various drives.</p>

<p>Our town runs an adopt a family program. One year, I volunteered to sponsor a family with 3 boys. On December 8 that year, I lost my job after 20 plus years. I still wanted to help. I went and got the list. These kids wanted the latest Wii, plus games, videos, skateboards, a computer, etc. Their clothing sizes indicated that they were very obese (not passing a judgment, I’m also fat and 2 of my boys were quite chubby at that time, too) - they wanted Abercrombie and Fitch, etc.</p>

<p>I contacted the coordinator and explained that I would NOT be getting them a Wii as I would not even buy that for my own kids. I offered to buy bikes for each child and the parents at a sale and the response from the coordinator was that the family was offended that I thought they were fat (which I never said out loud) and they wanted the Wii. I wound up buying them a ton of books, a couple of educational computer games, non-designer clothing and a bunch of board games. The families are supposed to send thank you notes - the one I got said “Thanks for nothing.” I will NEVER sponsor a family ever again.</p>

<p>That said, I am thinking of sponsoring something through Heifer.org as that seems like a really worthwhile charity.</p>

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<p>Heifer is okay, but their overhead is amazing. The $125 goat they have I do for $25 - [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.friendsoflafti.org%5DHome%5B/url”&gt;http://www.friendsoflafti.org]Home[/url</a>] And since I actually help BUY the goats, I know it actually gets there. (actually, we don’t give away the goats - we use the funds as a loan fund, which the women pay back. No micro-finance - we use a regular bank - as these women have never used the bank in their community before.</p>

<p>We split our donations basically half local and half international. Since I do all this international stuff, I know where the funds will actually be used without the overhead and advertising and PR eating it up. Locally, soldiers families who are having trouble, the local food bank, refugee aid organizations. And of course my own group Friendly Water for the World.</p>

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<p>I’m divorced. I frequently get annoyed by the comments of some posters on this site about the children of divorce. Most of the single moms I know put their own needs on the back burner and devote their all to raising good kids. </p>

<p>So, apart from things related to my faith…my favorite charity is the Single Parent Resource Center here in NY. Here’s a link to some of their programs: <a href=“http://thesingleparentresourcecenter.giving.officelive.com/Documents/SPRC%20Information%20Sheet.pdf[/url]”>http://thesingleparentresourcecenter.giving.officelive.com/Documents/SPRC%20Information%20Sheet.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>They do all sorts of things. Here are a few. </p>

<p>They have a support group for single dads. Single custodial moms are a lot more common. We form networks and support each other. In some ways, being a single, custodial dad is harder because it’s harder to find other men in the same boat. So, SPRC supports a group just for single dads. They get together with their kids and do guy things. This may sound silly…until you’ve talked to one of the dads who participates. </p>

<p>In the past, they’ve offered baby care classes to fathers. Some of these are young teen males. They learn things like how to change a diaper, take a baby’s temperature, burp a baby, etc. SPRC realizes that a lot of the teen dads check out on their kids because they don’t know how to do these things. The baby’s mama is often angry with the dad. Well meaning grandmas and aunts step in and take care of the baby during dad’s visitation. Shunted out of the way, dads lose interest. SPRC realizes that if dad stops seeing his baby early on, it’s a LOT harder to reconnect. The class helps single dads learn baby care techniques. Dads who go through it are more confident when caring for their children. This means they are more willing to spend time with their babies. When they do, they “bond.” They stay in their kids’ lives. </p>

<p>SPRC runs programs for moms in prison and/or drug rehab programs. When some of these moms are released, they get custody of their children. While, the excons really and truly love their kids, all too often they’ve built up this idealistic image of how perfect life will be when they get them back. Kids have a hard time accepting orders from someone who shows up after 3-5-7 or more years “away.” The programs really help.</p>

<p>SPRC runs after school programs with homework helpers in some shelters. What can I say? It’s tough to be a kid living in a shelter. Giving the kids a place to go and some help with school can make a huge difference in their lives.</p>

<p>SPRC tends to target more affluent single parents as donors. We know that it can be hard to be a single parent. When you’re poor, it’s a lot harder</p>

<p>SPRC sponsors big get togethers on holidays. Some more affluent parents attend. Holidays are tough. Being part of a group can help.</p>

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<p>habitat for humanity international</p>