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Here are some of our favorite places you can give back to the Westchester community on #GivingTuesday and throughout the holiday season.
You may have seen the hashtag/movement #GivingTuesday start popping up on your newsfeed already this year, encouraging us to give back to our community on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Joining the grassroots campaign gives organizations the opportunity to harness the power of social media to make their missions known on a day where people can join in collectively.
To help, we’ve rounded up a few local ways you can get involved this year, including donations of your time, toys, canned goods etc. Keep in mind: There’s always plenty to do in your local community, but we figured these would be a few great places to start.
Feeding Westchester
The organization packages a ton of food on a regular basis by sourcing and distributing food and resources to towns across Westchester with the help of nonprofit partner programs. This year, Amazon gave Feeding Westchester $50,000 as a Giving Tuesday match, which will double the impact of each dollar donated. The Amazon team also helped to pack frozen turkeys and other food for Thanksgiving dinners. Feeding Westchester is currently feeding more than 200,000 people every month on average.
Giving Tuesday at the Jefferson Valley Mall
Drop by the Yorktown Heights mall’s upper floor where our local Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Drive will be collecting toys, games, school supplies, and more running through December 8. Drop new, unwrapped gift items in the bin outside of Amy’s Hallmark Store.
Not local? No problem! Toys for Tots has drop-off locations all across Westchester this holiday season. Find which location is closest to you.
Pro Tip: Don’t just grab presents for younger kids. Teenagers need presents, too! Gift cards to shops like GameStop or Lush are always appreciated, and you can’t go wrong with a good old basketball or catcher’s mitt.
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The WestchesterÂ
Visit The Westchester this Giving Tuesday and shop at participating stores to help benefit the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. A portion of sales will be donated to the foundation from Tory Burch, Burberry, David Yurman, Chokomode, Pandora, Casper, Warby Parker, and Yogibo bags.
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Make-A-Wish
Giving for a good cause is written all over this opportunity. For each donation given today by midnight, Make-A-Wish will match five times the amount. What are you waiting for? Visit the website to donate.
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Ronald McDonald House of the Greater Hudson Valley
Adjacent to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, Ronald McDonald House provides a place to stay for families of children receiving care at MFCH. This year you can even eschew monetary donations to purchase physically needed items via the RMH Amazon Wishlist.
Volunteer New York!
This organization uses Giving Tuesday to call community leaders to action by making donations that go toward preserving and advancing local volunteerism. There are also tons of volunteering opportunities for Westchester residents all season long, but today there’s a special push for monetary donations to help the organization continue to expand its work in Westchester and Rockland Counties.
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Your Local Soup Kitchen
While we’re on the subject, nearly every community in Westchester has volunteer emergency food services you can contribute to on #GivingTuesday, either with your time, supplies, or just the monetary means to keep their mission going. Lifting Up Westchester in White Plains, for example, opens Grace Church Soup Kitchen to the community every weekday from 9 a.m. to noon and is always in need of cash and food donations, as well as volunteers, especially around the holidays. Check in your community to see if there’s a local organization you can help out on #GivingTuesday for the holidays or all year long.
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Giving Tuesday in Katonah
Support Katonah businesses and the nonprofits they assist by contributing these local initiatives. Ruby Sue Katonah is holding a denim drive, Coldwell Banker Katonah is holding a coats and cans drive in which canned goods and new or gently used coats are welcome, From the Roots is holding a coat drive, and the Katonah Reading Room is holding a shopping night and raffle.
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Related: Volunteering in Westchester: Where to Lend a Hand Locally
