5 Ways Your Family Can Give Back and Volunteer this Season

Learning Liftoff has been sharing recipes, gift suggestions, and activities to help add meaning and magic to your family’s winter celebrations. If you are looking to spread meaning and magic beyond your household this winter, check out these five ways you and your family can give back and volunteer this holiday season.

Runs for Charity

Whether you are already a workout junkie or are just looking to work off that holiday pie, sign up and run a race for charity this winter. Race Finder can help you sign up for runs that donate their proceeds to thank our veterans, find cures for illnesses, Habitat for Humanity, and other great charities.

 

Christmas Tree

Rather than selecting a tree from a grocery store or home improvement warehouse, seek out ways to support your local community. Many fire stations and scout troops organize Christmas tree lots as fundraisers for their causes.

Once your decorations are in order, consider purchasing a tree for a military family. Trees for Troops, who supplies trees to U.S. military bases abroad, offers civilians the opportunity to purchase trees for local military families who have loved ones overseas. Select a tree in person or make a donation online.

Food Drive

Have your Girl Scout troop, office, or neighborhood collect non-perishable food items for your local food pantry. Our K12 office recently collected canned and boxed food items for Family PASS, an organization near our Herndon headquarters that focuses on preventing homelessness.

Search Ample Harvest to find a food pantry to support near you.

 

Volunteer

Volunteer your time at a soup kitchen, fundraising event, or nursing home. While this is the season for celebrating, it is also a very difficult time of year for families and individuals who are missing loved ones. Give the gift of your time and presence by being there for and serving those in need.

Clean out your closets

Why wait for spring cleaning? Get a head start on organizing your home by getting rid of things that can be better used by someone in need. It’s getting cold (at least on the east coast) so donate extra jackets to a local coat drive.

Are your little ones big readers? Spread literacy by gifting books you don’t think your kiddos will be revisiting. Inquire at your local library or school as to where you can drop off your donations.

Do you and your family plan to give back or volunteer this holiday season? Comment below with the ways in which you plan to spread meaning and magic within and beyond your home this winter.