CHRISTMAS

Easy Options:

 

  • Buy a Christmas gift that could save the life of a desperately poor child, such as a pack of high-nutrition biscuits, or water purification tablets:  UNICEFgifts .

 

  • Buy farm animals for poor families in Africa and other such places:  HEIFERgifts  (the “share” price is the contribution that you make for the larger gifts).

 

  • Buy fair trade gifts (chocolates, coffees, teas, nuts, etc.):  these gifts are made under socially and environmentally responsible conditions.

 

  • Send a gift box to a poor kid through “Operation Christmas Child”:  ChristmasChild.

 

  • Donate books to your local Barnes & Noble bookstore’s Holiday book drive

 

  • Donate to Operation Smile to help fund facial reconstructive surgery for children who need it:  OperationSmile .

 

  • Donate to the Salvation Army to help the poor and homeless:  SalvationArmy .

 

  • Donate to the Make a Wish Foundation to help pay for Christmas wishes of kids with chronic illnesses to come true:  MakeAWish.

 

  • Donate to a local Toys for Tots drive.  You can find the nearest place to drop off toys at TOYS; or you can donate online at TOYSonline.

 

  • Give a Christmas gift to poor Americans by donating to Catholic Charities’ drive to reduce poverty in the U.S.:  CatholicCharities .

 

  • Churches often have charity drives at Christmastime.  Donate to your Church’s drive if it has one!

Issue:  Charity & Giving at Christmastime

Christmas is about the spirit of giving, and what better way to show the Christmas spirit than giving to those in need?  Fortunately, there are many options that come around this time of year for you to get involved and help the needy.  Donations drives, volunteer opportunities, and ways to give gifts to poor children all become more available in the Holiday season.  This Christmas, spread the season’s joy to the less fortunate.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from teenschangingtheworld.org!

In-depth Options:

  • Start your own Christmas donation drive at your school or Church for a charity you believe in.
  • Host a Christmas event at your school or Church to benefit charity.
  • If your family has an advent calendar tradition, instead of opening a "window" or gift each day, select a theme and donate a related item each day.  Some examples:  Food for the Hungry -- each day of advent put a canned or boxed food item into a bag & at the end of the advent season, donate them all to a food shelf.  Children in Need -- put a new toy or clothes item into a bag & donate when done.  Groups which are often overlooked during the holidays are teens and elderly.  So you could donate video games or cell phones for teens;  linens, heavy household supplies like detergents, large print books, clothing for the elderly.
  • Many people are alone and neglected during the holidays:  staff a soup kitchen, visit a senior center, read stories at a family homeless shelter, or visit the neighbor down the street whose family is far away.
  • Send cards and letters to service people over seas; organize a group to send a bunch.
  • Instead of getting a ton of gifts under your own tree, ask your parent to wrap a symbol of donations made on your behalf, like a picture or card telling about the donation.  Each gift you open could be a way in which you brought the Christmas spirit to the larger community.