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Where to Volunteer for the Holidays (2019)

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As a parent, I spend a lot of time planning for the holidays and thinking about how I can make them as magical as possible for my family. It is a frenzy of holiday activities, shopping, and cooking holiday meals with our families…but there is another incredibly important aspect to the holidays that should not be forgotten. In the true spirit of the holiday, this is also the time to give back to our community and help others who may be struggling. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to help others by volunteering over the holidays, and it can be a great opportunity to instill values of kindness and generosity in our kids.

We have put together the following list of wonderful organizations who work hard to help New Yorkers in need and add a little holiday cheer to their lives. If you want to help others and do good this holiday season, there are plenty of ways to get involved by volunteering, donating, and more. And don’t forget to get your kids involved however you can! Of course many of these organizations do amazing work year-round and might need even more help after the holidays, so please sign up to volunteer regularly or get in touch early next year to find out how you can help.

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Where to Volunteer for the Holidays

Brooklyn Community Services  (Brooklyn)

BCS has provided a variety of community services for the past 150 years and they need volunteers to help out with their many community Thanksgiving celebrations and other holiday celebrations coming up. You can view all of the volunteer opportunities and sign up to help out here.  They also organize a Holiday Gift Drive so that every child in the BCS community receives a wrapped gift for the holidays and you can help out by donating and/or attending their holiday gift wrapping parties. If you are interested in donating a gift, you can bring your donation to a wrapping party, order something from their amazon wish list, or drop your donation to the donation box at 151 Lawrence St, Fl. 4, BK, NY, 11201. All donations are due by December 11th. If your office, place of worship, building, etc. would like to participate in our Holiday Gift Drive, you can find details here.

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The Campaign Against Hunger (Bed-Stuy)

TCAH is one of largest food pantries in NYC and they provide basic food staples to more than 30,000 low-income individuals each month. Volunteers are essential to their operation from assisting with intake to unloading food items to harvesting produce from their farm (TCAH Urban Farm) and there are always opportunities for families with children who are willing to help out. You can view the volunteer calendar with available shifts and sign up to volunteer by filling out the form on their website or call 718-773-3551 (x115) for more information. They also need monetary donations (for every $1 you donate, TCAH can distribute $5 worth of food) and they are accepting donations of any non-perishable food items, toys, clothing, turkeys, canned items and roasters.

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The CHiPS Soup Kitchen (Park Slope/Gowanus)
This soup kitchen and shelter for homeless young women and infants can use volunteers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Mon. to Sat.) in the soup kitchen, the office, and at the Frances Residency. You can even volunteer with your kids (ages 6-16); sign up for those opportunities here. Please note that they do get a lot of volunteers during the holidays and they are typically only able to accept volunteers who have attended their volunteer orientation, but they also need volunteers after the holidays. To find out more about what they do and how you can help out, please attend their Giving Tuesday Open House on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd at 5-7 PM. To volunteer, please attend one of the info sessions held twice a month at CHiPS.

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Citymeals on Wheels (All Areas)
They deliver hot, prepared meals to homebound, elderly New Yorkers in all five boroughs and can use volunteers to help with a variety of tasks including meal delivery, kitchen help, friendly visits and senior chats. They also need help delivering meals on holidays in Brooklyn and other boroughs. It is helpful (though not necessary) to have a vehicle to use for deliveries, and children can also help to deliver meals as long as they are accompanied by an adult. To volunteer, just fill out the online form and enter your preferences. You and your kids can also make holiday cards to be distributed to seniors with holiday meals. If you choose to donate money instead, 100% of your donation will be used for the preparation and delivery of meals.

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The Greenpoint Church hosts a community dinner every Wednesday evening, and volunteers are needed to help cook, set up, serve and clean from 2:00-7:30 p.m. They also run a food pantry and distribute groceries from the church every Thursday from 4:00-7:00 p.m and volunteers are needed from 2:30-7:30 p.m. (except for Thanksgiving). Some shifts fill up, but they still need volunteers before and after Thanksgiving. Sign up to volunteer here.

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God’s Love We Deliver (All Areas)
This non-sectarian organization provides nutrition therapy, and cooks and home delivers medically tailored meals for people living with severe illness in the New York City metropolitan area. They deliver over 35,000 meals each week including special holiday meals to clients with serious illnesses and their families on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Right now they can use volunteers to help with client meal delivery. Families can register for Walking Deliveries on Wednesdays and Fridays. You can sign up to volunteer on their website. Please email volunteer@glwd.org for more information. You can also support them by donating to Celebrate with a Plate – $20 will fund a holiday meal for a seriously ill New Yorker and their loved one.

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Neighbors Together Soup Kitchen (Bed-Stuy)
Neighbors Together is committed to ending hunger and poverty in Ocean Hill, Brownsville and Bedford-Stuyvesant, three of the lowest-income areas in New York City. Their soup kitchen, The Community Cafe, provides 400 healthy meals a day and they need volunteers to help prepare and serve lunches and dinners. You can also get involved in their Empowerment Program, which connects members with necessary resources, and the Community Action Program, which engages in community organizing and advocacy efforts to improve public policies.  To volunteer, fill out this online form or contact them at 718-498-7256 with questions. Or you can help raise funds for their Thirty Thanksgivings program, which feeds 6,000 people in Brooklyn between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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NY Common Food Pantry (All Areas)
They run variety of food pantry programs year-round to reduce hunger and promote dignity for New Yorkers and they will also distribute Thanksgiving packages to New York households. You can support them by volunteering to pre-sort donations or help out with Thanksgiving Week grocery distribution (and volunteer to help out with their year-round pantry programs) or by making a monetary donation ($50 provides one family with a complete holiday meal). You can also donate food to their Food Rescue program throughout the year to stock their pantry shelves. You can contact them with questions at (917) 720-9710 or volunteer@nycommonpantry.org.

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They have a soup kitchen that serves nearly 3,000 meals to New Yorkers every day and they are always looking for volunteers in their Soup Kitchen, Food Pantry, Resource Center and Mobile Soup Kitchen.  You can sign up here to volunteer for any of their programs. Their annual holiday project Sponsor A Family provides brand-new gifts to children and young teens and gives each family a holiday meal to take home. For more information about volunteering or donating, call 718-574-0058 or email jstephen@breadandlife.org.

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Where to Donate and Other Ways to Help

CAMBA provides a variety of necessary social services to support thousands of New Yorkers who are hungry, homeless, raising children, and struggling to establish stable homes. They’re always in need of cash donations as well as non-cash gifts to support their clients at over 80 locations around the city. Please check the website for lists of items that are needed before dropping them off at one of their many shelters and donation points all over in Brooklyn. Right now they are also collecting donations for their annual holiday meal drive 500 Holiday Meals for 500 Families.

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City Harvest Daily News Food Drive is the largest food drive in the city and they collect non-perishable food items all over the city to keep shelves stocked at soup kitchens, food pantries, and other community food programs (Oct 22 to Jan 17). They provide support and and a digital toolkit to help you run your own food drive. Or you can donate food to one of your drop-off locations: City Harvest’s office in Midtown Manhattan, any FDNY or NYPD station, and Apple Bank locations throughout the five boroughs from October 22 through January 17. More info here.

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Doing Good Together offers lots of resources to help you teach your kids about kindness and they also make it easy for families to volunteer together. For more information, subscribe to their free monthly newsletter with local family-friendly volunteer opportunities here. They have listings all over the country, including New York. The newsletter includes clever and creative family volunteer projects in the New York area and at least five different family volunteer opportunities each month.

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Friendsgiving for No Kid Hungry can help you raise money for hungry kids while enjoying Thanksgiving with your friends. Just sign up to host a Friendsgiving celebration for No Kid Hungry and they will help you plan and raise money with their easy online tools. Every $1 you raise can provide 10 meals for a child in need. You can also donate directly to No Kid Hungry and your tax-deductible gift will provide kids with nutritious food and teach their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals. Another great way to support them is to make a gift in a loved one’s name and purchase a No Kid Hungry holiday e-card or printed holiday cards to send to friends and family.

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Little Essentials offers at-risk families living in poverty urgently needed children’s supplies and parenting education to promote the health, well-being and safety of children under five years old. You can donate children’s supplies like pack n’ plays, bassinets, strollers, car seats, clothing and coats, diapers, and more – please see their website for the updated list of supplies they are accepting. Or you can volunteer to help sort donations in their warehouse on an upcoming “Fall Family Day” of families helping families. Children (age 8+) are welcome to help sort, clean, bundle, and count. For more ideas on ways to help out, check out their list of “10 Ways to Help.”

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New York Cares Coat Drive collects gently used coats of all sizes and distributes them to homeless and low-income families around the city. Over 300 collection sites can be found all over the city in transportation hubs, police stations, and participating stores. Check out the drop off map to find a location near you. You can also start your own coat drive in your building, school, or community. Check the website for more information including the complete list of drop off sites and other ways to help out like donating $20 to purchase a new coat for a New Yorker in need. You can also volunteer with your children (ages 6+) to help out with their New York Cares Family Friendly Projects.

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Brooklyn Book Bodega works to increase the number of 100+ book homes in Brooklyn as research shows that can boost life outcomes for children and adolescents. Since December 2018, they have given out 15,000 books to over 1,800 individuals. You can help out by hosting a book drive (a great thing to do with kids!); they make it easy by providing all the information and support you may need. You can also donate books to their book donation sites and/or sign up to volunteer to help out with future events.

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Room to Grow is a non-profit that works with families living in poverty from pre-birth to age three to offer structured coaching, material goods, and community connections to support parents so children thrive from the start. Room to Grow collects in-kind donations for these families including clothing up to size 5T, books, toys, and gear appropriate for newborns to age three. Check their website for other urgent donation needs and donation drop-off instructions.

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If you are looking for even more opportunities to volunteer and help out in your communities year-round, New York Cares and NYC Service are also great resources that allow you to search for specific opportunities and find ways to help out that align with your schedule and interests. There are so many ways to help, I know it can be a little overwhelming… the most important thing is to get started and do something. You can always make adjustments to your volunteering schedule later. But if you can find a way to get started and volunteer or donate or help out in some other way, it will make a huge difference in the lives of others and make your holiday season that much richer.

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Margel Nusbaumer is a local writer and mom in Brooklyn. Thoughts? Reach out to margel@achildgrows.com.

 

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