During the holiday season, we tend to get
wrapped up in gifts, yet the holiday season, at its most fundamental core, is
about giving to and helping others in any capacity that we can. This can mean
donating even just $10 to a charity, which can benevolently affect others in
your community.
Alzheimer's Association
This charity helps support people suffering
with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. The Alzheimer's
Association explains that "every dollar you give benefits those affected by
Alzheimer's disease. From face-to-face support and online education programs to
promising worldwide research initiatives, your donation makes a difference."
Click here to donate to the Alzheimer's Association.
First Tee
First Tee,
an international organization, challenges youth from all demographics to play
golf to help them practice values that golf reinforces, such as "integrity,
respect, and perseverance," according to their website. First Tee found that
after their program, 82 percent of the participants felt more confident in
their social skills and 73 percent of the participants reported confidence in
their academic and scholarship abilities. Click here
to donate to First Tee.
Goodwill
Goodwill
helps people prepare for job and career opportunities. According to their
website, they "served more than 25 million individuals worldwide and helped
more than 230,000 people train for careers in industries such as banking, IT,
and healthcare." Reverend Edgar J. Helms, Goodwill's founder, also created the
Goodwill philosophy of "not charity, but a chance." When you donate old clothes
and items that you don't use, the revenue goes to developing employment
training and job placement services. Click here
to find a donation location near you.
Jazz Museum
The New
Orleans Jazz Museum found its home in the Old U.S. Mint by Frenchmen Street
and the French Quarter, in the center of the city of jazz. The Jazz Museum
helps inform the world's view of jazz as an important and vital genre of music
and an influential aspect of New Orleanian history. This museum also partners
with arts schools, such as the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and the
Trombone Shorty Academy, to help young jazz musicians continue the legacy.
Click here
to donate to the Jazz Museum.
Jefferson SPCA (JSPCA)
The
Jefferson SPCA is a nonprofit organization created to help the Jefferson
Parish Animal Shelter. They put on events such as Pet Fest, the Rabies Drive,
and the Amazing Acro-Cats to encourage people to adopt animals from the shelter
and to ensure that pets are healthy and up-to-date on vaccinations. Help out
JSPCA to support animals in your city. Click here
to donate, here to adopt, and here
to volunteer.
Ascension DePaul Services of New Orleans
(ADSNO)
Founded by the Daughters of Charity, Ascension DePaul's mission is "to improve the
health and well-being of our community and to be a presence of the love of
Jesus in the lives of all we serve." The DePaul Community Health Centers offer
a wide range of healthcare, ranging from primary medical care for all ages to
women's health to Hepatitis C and HIV screening. Click here to donate
to ADSNO, in order to help individuals in your community receive healthcare.
