T'is the season of giving! Communities will come together in food shelters, salvation armies and all kinds of charities with the spirit of giving back. This Tuesday, December 1 is also #GivingTuesday the global day of giving. Although it's a wonderful thing to give back during this time of the year, we should remember people are in need all the time and everywhere.
These are 5 simple and awesome nonprofits you can bring to your communities anytime of the year.
1. Oxfamamerica.org -- Host an Oxfam Banquet
This event will allow you and the people at your banquet to first hand experience hunger and poverty matters. This interactive gathering will divide the people at your banquet into different socio-economic statuses, this will appear in the way their meal look and by their placement within the space. It's simple but yet very emotion and thought provoking, it can happen with 10 people or 200. Check out their website and learn how to host a banquet in your city.
2. DoSomething.org
This organization is awesome! It gives you an array of charity event options all customized to causes you're passionate about. Weather you care about discrimination, the environment, health or education they have got an event for you. Simple events ideas such as "Oppression Monopoly" are suggested on the site, an event like this will help bring awareness to the inequalities in society.
3. VolunteerMatch.org
We may not all want to put in the work to host an event or rally a bunch of people together. VolunteerMatch is a great way to get involved by doing pretty minimal work. You log on to the website enter the city you reside in, choose a cause you're interested in helping with and you will get matched with an organization that suites you. They make it simple and easy for you to give back. Check out their website for all your quick charity needs.
4. Roomtoread.org
Room to Read has set up over 13,000 libraries in the developing world in the past 11 years. This charity focuses on a simple concept of reading. If education is what fires you up this is the charity for you. Room to Read will give you all the resources and ideas to put on a successful fundraiser. For each dollar raised this organization will give a book to a deserving kid. You will choose the country to donate to and the books will be bought from local artist in their own language. Their website will give you an idea of where books might be needed and how you can contribute to this cause. This video will give you effortless fundraising ideas that you can do in your office, campus or church.
5. Hashtaglunchbag.org
This movement started with a catchy nickname, a few friends in an LA apartment and has spread into five other continents. Making sandwiches, writing positive messages on sticky notes, putting them in lunch bags just like your mom would for school lunch. Simple concept that can be done anywhere and anytime. After you the lunch bags are ready, you will go around into different hunger and homeless stricken areas in your city to deliver the food. Remember this can be done with 5 people in your personal kitchen or 100 in a huge space, maybe even add a DJ and make a party out of it! In order to spread awareness you would post images of your charity event to social media using #HashtagLunchbag.