During the holidays, there are tons of things someone can do to give back to their community: donating food, clothes or money; starting a fundraiser; or even just giving of their time. Below are some area organizations and how to support them during the holiday season. 

A big and popular organization is the Harvesters Community food network. They collect non-perishable food items, for example: canned vegetables, canned fruit, rice, cereal and peanut butter. You can donate in Harvesters barrels that are located at grocery stores. Cash donations are also very much appreciated. 

If you want to donate toys to children who are facing some of the hardest battles a child can face, cancer and other severe illnesses, the Children’s Mercy toy drive is a great way to put a smile on a kid’s face. These donations not only go to the kids, but the kids’ families. Cash donations are also welcome to have someone else pick out a toy for them. 

Speaking of kids, another organization you can donate to for the holidays is the K.V.C.’s Holiday Heroes program, through this program you can donate toys, gift cards and money to kids in the foster care system who have been adopted or reunited with families. If you are feeling extra generous you can also decide to adopt an entire family. 

An extremely popular organization to donate to for the holidays is Toys for Tots. This organization collects unwrapped gifts for children who are in low income families, this is an  amazing way to give back to the kids and people in your community. To get more information on where collecting sites are in your area, you can visit the Toys for Tots website.                                                                                                             

Another organization that is amazing is the Starfish project. They are located off Santa Fe and they collect all sorts of donations, from food to baby products. The starfish project is a great way to give back to your community and not just during the holidays. This organization helps so many people in need. A person can come into the establishment and get whatever they need, no questions asked and completely judgment free. You can drop any donations off at Starfish directly and they will take care of them and make sure they are given to people who need them. It is a very simple and impactful process. 

Everyone needs help. Some people are more fortunate than others and especially around holiday time, all of us need to reflect and be grateful for all we have. There are so many things we take for granted and there are so many ways we can give back to the community we live in and help people in need; so they can have a good and happy time during the holidays as well. It doesn’t take much to make a difference in someone’s life, please if you can consider donating to not just the organizations listed above, but any organization near you. Even if you aren’t in a position to donate anything, there are still so many ways for us as people to help and make someone’s day/holiday. Even just buying the person’s coffee behind you or smiling at someone can do more than you know.