Thanksgiving — the time of year for turkey dinners, celebrations with family and giving thanks for all you have. While many of us take this time to cherish our blessings, some people aren’t quite as lucky. In the spirit of thanks and giving, now is the perfect time to lend a hand to those in need. If you’re looking to add more meaning to this holiday, consider donating your time, money and energy to helping others. Here are a few ways you can help someone this Thanksgiving.
1. Volunteer your time or money.
There are countless people who are alone or in need of help throughout your community, especially during the holidays. Consider making the day special for them by volunteering your time at a local shelter, nursing home, hospital or soup kitchen, serving a delicious Thanksgiving meal to the homeless or hungry. You can seek out other organizations and volunteer activities through VolunteerMatch.org or locally through Volunteer Washington County.
2. Donate or shop at Goodwill.
By donating and shopping at any of our Horizon Goodwill locations, you are helping people in your community. We put 90 cents of every dollar spent in our stores right back into job training and other programs. We help those who want to work but have barriers to employment achieve success. And, we do it all with funds made in our retail locations.
3. Donate. Donate. Donate.
In addition to Goodwill, there are several local organizations collecting items to give this holiday season. Consider donating canned and packaged foods, canned fruits and vegetables, personal care items, gently used clothing and paper products to local homeless shelters, pantries, food banks and missions.
4. Give the gift of work.
Many businesses need extra help around the holidays, but finding qualified and reliable employees can be a major challenge. At Goodwill, we work closely with the business community to create training and employment programs that meet the needs of employers. Not only will you meet your needs with business solutions like commercial cleaning, temporary labor or warehousing, but you’ll also provide tremendous opportunity to someone in need of a job.
5. Take advantage of Black Friday deals and shop for a family in need.
After you’ve scoured your local Goodwill for steals and deals, shop Black Friday specials for wish list items for impoverished families. Organizations like Salvation Army and United Way allow generous shoppers to “sponsor” or “adopt” a deserving family for the holidays. By shopping toys, clothing and household items at Goodwill or when they’re marked down on Black Friday, you’ll get more for your money while making the holiday season merrier for those in need.
How will you help others this holiday season?