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Your to-do list is long, I know. Your schedule of purchases and things to remember may even seem endless. And I’m about to ask you to do more. Really.
There’s no better time to find opportunities to give than during the holiday season. Many of us sit, frazzled with finding the perfect gift, while others are struggling and unsure how they’ll make a nice holiday meal or afford just one gift for Sally or Jake under the tree.
After doing research for this week’s column, I’ve never felt more inspired to make a difference. Check out these ways to grab some good giving this year:
Be An Elf
Website: www.beanelf.org
I am in love with the USPS program, Operation Santa, an effort that helps kids in need receive gifts over the holiday season. When touching letters to Santa start pouring into post offices from children whose wishes might not become a reality, postal locations strip personal information from the letters and make them available to volunteer elves. Be An Elf is the best resource to learn more about this little known program.
Visit Be An Elf to determine which of 26 participating locations you can visit to select a letter. Then shop for the gift, wrap it, and send it through the USPS. Short on time or far away from a participating post office? Donate online through Be An Elf to help kids’ dreams come true.
Red Cross
Website: www.redcross.org
With Superstorm Sandy in the very recent past, our nation is no stranger to natural disaster. Victims are still in need of assistance, as are local branches of the Red Cross. Visit their site to make a donation, or shop from their Holiday Giving Catalog to help those in need today.
Dreams for Kids: Holiday for Hope
Website: www.dreamsforkids.org
Fifteen hundred homeless and severely at-risk children from across Illinois will attend a holiday celebration at the Broadway Armory in Chicago, where Dreams for Kids will hold its 13th annual event to share holiday joy with children in need. Visit their site to learn more about the event, register to attend, or make a donation to help this organization continue to replace charity with opportunity.
Molly Logan Anderson is a writer, wife and mom of three who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Intent on finding good in every day through her website www.GrabTheGood.com, she hopes to help others do the same. Visit her there to receive her humorous and heartwarming take on life via your Inbox. From good family to good advice to good causes and good humor, Molly is writing about it.
Your to-do list is long, I know. Your schedule of purchases and things to remember may even seem endless. And I’m about to ask you to do more. Really.
There’s no better time to find opportunities to give than during the holiday season. Many of us sit, frazzled with finding the perfect gift, while others are struggling and unsure how they’ll make a nice holiday meal or afford just one gift for Sally or Jake under the tree.
After doing research for this week’s column, I’ve never felt more inspired to make a difference. Check out these ways to grab some good giving this year:
Be An Elf
Website: www.beanelf.org
I am in love with the USPS program, Operation Santa, an effort that helps kids in need receive gifts over the holiday season. When touching letters to Santa start pouring into post offices from children whose wishes might not become a reality, postal locations strip personal information from the letters and make them available to volunteer elves. Be An Elf is the best resource to learn more about this little known program.
Visit Be An Elf to determine which of 26 participating locations you can visit to select a letter. Then shop for the gift, wrap it, and send it through the USPS. Short on time or far away from a participating post office? Donate online through Be An Elf to help kids’ dreams come true.
Red Cross
Website: www.redcross.org
With Superstorm Sandy in the very recent past, our nation is no stranger to natural disaster. Victims are still in need of assistance, as are local branches of the Red Cross. Visit their site to make a donation, or shop from their Holiday Giving Catalog to help those in need today.
Dreams for Kids: Holiday for Hope
Website: www.dreamsforkids.org
Fifteen hundred homeless and severely at-risk children from across Illinois will attend a holiday celebration at the Broadway Armory in Chicago, where Dreams for Kids will hold its 13th annual event to share holiday joy with children in need. Visit their site to learn more about the event, register to attend, or make a donation to help this organization continue to replace charity with opportunity.
Molly Logan Anderson is a writer, wife and mom of three who lives in the Chicago suburbs. Intent on finding good in every day through her website www.GrabTheGood.com, she hopes to help others do the same. Visit her there to receive her humorous and heartwarming take on life via your Inbox. From good family to good advice to good causes and good humor, Molly is writing about it.
