Sarah Y. Kim
‘Tis the season of giving, and there’s no shortage of places to give in the D.C. region — whether that means wrapping gifts for kids, ensuring a family gets their holiday meal, singing carols, or adopting a furry companion. If you’re not sure where to begin, here’s a list of places in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to get you started.
There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities at Bread for the City, which provides low-income residents with clothing, medical care, and legal and social services. You can sign up for shifts here to distribute food and sort donated clothing, or make a donation.
Through 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, you can sponsor a family and provide them with gift cards through this Arlington shelter’s Holiday Helpers Drive. You can sponsor a family on your own or collaborate with friends, congregations, or co-workers. It costs $50 to sponsor a child and $100 to sponsor an adult.
Cornerstones, a nonprofit in Reston, is holding a winter coat closet with the Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s Office. If you’d like to donate new or gently used heavy winter coats, or new hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves, stop by the North County Government Building in Reston on Dec. 17 and Jan. 14. You can also help distribute coats on those days. Dress warmly — weather permitting, distribution will be outdoors.
EDLAVITCH DC JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
Edlavitch DCJCC has its largest volunteer event of the year on Christmas Day, and there are numerous ways you can participate. You can deliver gifts, donate blood, serve meals, or sing carols for residents at senior centers, hospitals, and shelters. It costs $20 to participate. Funds will help cover the cost of supplies for the day, including gifts for clients. You must register to participate for all activities, except for the blood drive.
This animal shelter in D.C. has a special year-end match opportunity: through midnight on New Year’s Eve, your donations will be doubled. There will also be winter pet food drives throughout the month, and multiple pop-up adoption events Dec. 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the shelter’s New York Avenue location.
KIDS IN NEED DURING THE HOLIDAYS (KINDH)
KINDH serves low-income families in Montgomery County, as well as Fairfax, Loudoun County, and Prince William County. You can sign up here to buy, wrap, and deliver gifts for children, or you can donate money online here.
Making Home Possible will be holding a toy drive for children in Wheaton and accepting donations for the holidays. More details here. It’s also holding an ongoing fundraiser for families affected by the Gaithersburg apartment building explosion in November that killed one and injured several, including children.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
Until Dec. 9, you can drop off gifts or gift cards or provide holiday meals to people experiencing homelessness, on or close to Christmas or New Year’s Day. More details here on the organization’s holiday giving campaign. You can also make a monetary donation at this link.
There are always opportunities to give back to the community at N Street Village, which serves women experiencing homelessness in D.C. You can sign up for a volunteer opportunity or make a donation.
NORTHERN VIRGINIA FAMILY SERVICE
NVFS just wrapped up its toy drive, but there are still plenty of other ways you can give this holiday season. You can make a donation to help the nonprofit purchase grocery gift cards for clients, as well as toys and gift cards for families to celebrate the holidays.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
You can volunteer here in numerous ways, including with the department’s holiday sharing program, which is accepting food, toys, and clothing for families.
Suited for Change provides free professional clothes and job training to low-income women in D.C. On Dec. 14, you can stop by the nonprofit’s Boutique Sale from 4 to 6 p.m. and shop for a new suit, jewelry, a handbag, or gift. All proceeds go to the organization.
Thrive DC is encouraging people to give a “Gift of Hope” to people experiencing homelessness this winter. That can be a recurring or one-time gift, which you can make here. Donors help Thrive DC’s clients get groceries as well as services like employment assistance and substance abuse support.
This nonprofit, whose mission is to end poverty, will be holding a Good Karma Holiday Program. You can sponsor a family, meaning you’ll be getting a coat, book, and a toy/other gift for each child in a family and retail store gift card for adults. Or you can drop off new, unwrapped gifts at the nonprofit’s Center for Community Service in Silver Spring. Families visiting the center will receive toys at the center throughout the month.
This post has been updated with the correct spelling for the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center.
