As the holiday season swiftly approaches us, and while we make our list of gifts to get for the people we love, it's important to give back to the most vulnerable in our society. If you haven't already, we urge you to consider donating to a charity of your choice this season. Whether it's time or financial resources, celebrating this season by giving back is the most rewarding thing we can do.
We've included a list of 5 of our favorite charities along with a link to donate. We also recommend you check out Charity Navigator or Charity Watch. These sites help navigate the large number of registered charities in the US and independently investigates how they are being run to give you peace-of-mind about which charities will use your donations in the most effective way.
BABY2BABY
BABY2BABY provides children living in poverty with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that every child deserves. In the last 10 years, Baby2Baby has distributed over 200 million items to children in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals and underserved schools as well as children who have lost everything in the wake of disaster.
Charity Water
Charity Water is a non-profit organization founded by Scott Harrison in 2006 that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. 785 million people lack basic access to clean and safe drinking water and Charity Water is on a mission to change that. The global water crisis is massive, but together, we can solve it. Join The Spring, a community of givers, to bring clean and safe water to families around the world.
Lotus House Homeless Shelter
Each night, as estimated 2.5 million children in America go to sleep without a place to call home. Children ages 0 to 6 are at the greatest risk of homelessness. The majority of homeless families are headed by single women, and family homelessness is growing.
Over the past 15 years, Lotus House has sheltered thousands of high special needs women and children, most of whom are persons of color lacking meaningful access to safe affordable housing, child care, education, health care, economic opportunity, and social and economic justice. Lotus House is committed to advancing the status of women and children, providing sanctuary with deep therapeutic supports to heal and enriched resources to reclaim lives marked by violence, poverty and discrimination, so that they may blossom into who they are meant to be.
Innocence Project
Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501 nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted, through the use of DNA testing and working to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
The Innocence Project was established in the wake of a study by the United States Department of Justice and United States Senate, in conjunction with the Jewish Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, which claimed that incorrect identification by eyewitnesses was a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions. Help reunite families and create a more equal and just society.
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster.
Your gift will allow IRC to deliver comprehensive help to people affected by humanitarian crises and will be used where and when most needed. And, when combined with those of other donors, your gift becomes a powerful means to support their vital work, including education, health care, emergency support and job training for families in crisis worldwide.