The holiday season is upon us! And if we take no other lesson from 2020, it’s the importance of connecting with family, friends, neighbors, and our community. This holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to give back to others. We hope these ideas will inspire you to get to work in your community helping those who deserve love this time of year.
1. Organize a holiday food drive. This year, people are struggling more than ever to pay their bills. Unemployment rates are high, which means families are struggling to meet their basic needs.
Ideas:
If you know someone who needs help buying groceries, reach out and offer to help that one family. You can even do it anonymously.
Food banks, nonprofits, and religious organizations often seek partners to collect nonperishable items. Rally your friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors to collect food for a few weeks.
Use your neighborhood Facebook page or homeowner’s association to organize porch pick ups of non-perishable items on a specific weekend.
Tip: This is a great family activity that can be done outdoors and socially distanced. You can keep the pick up and delivery teams within the family and it will still be fun.
2. Adopt a family or an individual. The holidays can be a struggle for some families. This year may be even more difficult than usual. You can make a difference by “adopting” a family or individual.
Ideas:
If you know a family in need, offer to help them directly. You can even do it anonymously.
Ask a church, school, nonprofit, or other community organization for the name of a family or individual in need.
Many Meals on Wheels organizations could use help this time of year to serve homebound senior citizens. They have adjusted their processes to ensure safety during COVID. Shifts are just a few hours and are done in your own car.
Tip: .Get the kids in your life involved to select toys to give to the children in the adopted family, or they can go with you on a Meal on Wheels volunteer shift.
3. Share your time and talents with a nursing home. Spending the holidays in a long-term elder care facility or nursing home can be difficult for those without close family members. Even if nursing homes don’t allow outside visitors in due to COVID safety guidelines, there are still things you can do to deliver some holiday cheer.
Muster your friends and family members with little ones to make holiday cards for a nursing home nearby.
Arrange for a group of friends or family members to sing Christmas carols to the nursing home residents, even if it’s from outdoors or via Zoom.
Arrange for holiday treats to be delivered to staff and/or residents.
Talk to your church, employer, or community organization about adopting a nursing home this holiday season. It can be as simple as doing one thoughtful thing each week from the list above.
4. Clean up your neighborhood or community. Getting outside is something good you can do for your body and mind, even when it’s cold outside. Beautifying a neighborhood has many benefits.
Ideas:
Nowadays, it may not be feasible to organize a big clean up event, but you can still beautify your neighborhood or one nearby. You can do this on your own or within your family, and extend the invitation to your neighbors.
Choose a neglected community park and beautify it on a weekend.
You should be able to recycle much of the trash that you pick up, including paper, glass, and aluminum. Check with your local recycling center for guidelines.
Tip: Check with your local recycling center or other community groups to learn about resources they can offer in your efforts. Some centers have community drop off days and organize their own events.
5. Become a more involved citizen. Regardless of your political leanings, you can get more involved as a citizen to make a positive difference in the community.
Ideas:
Create or sign a petition to make a needed change in your community.
Attend local school board meetings, city council meetings, or other local government events. It might be easier than ever since many are done by Zoom these days.
Follow a variety of local news sources to get balanced reporting on what’s going on in the community.
Tip: An easy way to keep up on local issues is to follow local leaders on social media. Many of them websites and publish newsletters.
6. Support local businesses. Many businesses have been forced to limit capacity and had to get creative to ensure social distancing. Unfortunately, some have had to downsize their staff, or have had to shut down for periods of time to address issues related to the pandemic.
Ideas:
Buy gift cards from local businesses for stocking stuffers, and neighbor and teacher gifts.
Support local artisans at farmers’ markets. In addition to farm-fresh produce, you’ll find unique apparel, handmade baked goods, handcrafted candles and soaps, and other one-of-a-kind items.
Support your local arts by purchasing tickets to attend live-streamed holiday concerts and shows.
Tip: If you’re concerned about shopping in person right now, many businesses offer online shopping, with options for in-store pick-up or curbside delivery.
7. Donate to local charities and schools. Nonprofits could always use your financial support, so consider making a monetary donation. If money is tight (or you want to support in other ways), there are other ways you can help.
Ideas:
Begin a conversation with the charity to see what their needs are! At Career Compass, we love talking about our mission and how you can help.
Instead of the typical holiday gift under the tree, donate to a charity in someone’s name.
Choose your favorite charity (like Career Compass!) when you shop on smile.amazon.com. Amazon will donate to the charity, at no cost to use, when you make eligible purchases.
Ask schools if they have any opportunities to help students in need. Many students still don’t have the appropriate technology or wi-fi at home that they needed for remote learning.
Tip: This season is one of great need, but also of great generosity. Many charities run collection efforts during the holidays. Instead of starting something new, find one that speaks to you and support it.
7. Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way to connect with like-minded people in your community. Working together for a shared cause makes a positive impact and can create lifelong friends.
Ideas:
Learn about your favorite charity’s needs and donate your time and talents.
Find a cause that is meaningful to you. Big or small, every effort makes a difference. Check out www.volunteermatch.com, which connects volunteers with charities. They even list virtual volunteer opportunities.
You may not realize how many organizations you already know about that would love the gift of your time. Your local schools, CASA organizations, churches, animal shelters, homeless organizations, food banks, and others are just a start.
Check with your local United Way for other ideas. United Ways support local charities and know them very well.
Band together with your co-workers to support a cause that is meaningful to you.
Tip: If you don’t know where to begin, start close to home to see where the needs are the greatest. Find an opportunity that matches your preferences and your schedule. You can volunteer as a one-time thing, or in an ongoing way -- it’s up to you!
8. Make a daily calendar of random acts of kindness. You can make a big difference one small act at a time. It doesn’t have to cost a thing and you can involve the whole family.
Ideas:
Check out this Comeback Momma blog post for some ideas.
Use this printable by Coffee Cups and Crayons to make it super easy.
Create a version of the concept for your co-workers and whoever completes the whole thing wins a prize.
How Can We Help You?
We would love to hear from you about how you are making a positive impact in your community—this holiday season and beyond. If we can help you do that in any way, please drop us a line