Ways to Give Back at Christmas - Blogmas Day 11

Hello Friends,


I hope you are doing well. Welcome to day 11 of Blogmas! I just got back from a day of volunteering at the Chum Wish Foundation and it was wonderful sorting donations of toys and other items for newborn to 18 years old. It was great meeting new people and doing something to help others for a day. Today I will share with you a couple of the ways we can help to give back at this time of the year.

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Volunteering
Donating your time and energy somewhere is a great way to help out around the holidays. Every time I go and volunteer somewhere, I think that I should be doing it way more often and all year round. It makes you feel so good helping others, you meet new people, and you can also gain new skills by trying out new things in a volunteer setting. Some volunteer ideas going on right now in the Greater Toronto Area are:

Chum Wish Foundation: Sorting donations and "shopping" and putting together bags of toys that are appropriate for the ages of the children requested.Click here to find out more about volunteering.

Carol to Care: Trek for Teens Foundation is putting on this caroling to raise funds for homeless youth on December 14th from 1pm - 4pm. Click here to find out more about volunteering.

Yonge Street Mission - Helping to mail out Christmas cards to donors on December 12th and 13th. Task is printing out labels and affixing them onto envelopes. Click here to find out more about volunteering.

Ve'ahavta to Drive to Survive: Donation sorting of hygiene items and clothing. Click here for more information.

Donating

Donate money or items to causes that are close to your heart. I know Christmas always makes me think of those less fortunate and also the causes I love. I haven't donated in past years, but now that I am getting my finances in order and student debt paid off, I would like to start donating to causes I love. Some ideas of places to donate in the Toronto area if you are in Canada are:

Covenant House: Homeless youth are given a place to go for support and housing. This organization cares for the well-being of these children. Click here to find out more about making a donation.

Free-Them:Not-for-Profit organization dedicated to ending Human Trafficking in Canada and abroad. I attended their annual walk in September and donated to the cause. It is a great cause and so amazing what they are doing. Click here to find out more information on donating.

Wishing Well Sanctuary: I visited this sanctuary for animals a couple of years ago and it was a wonderful experience. It touched my heart that these animals were all saved from factory farms or negative situations and were able to live the rest of their lives at the sanctuary. Click here for more information on making a donation.

StreetKnit project: Knitting mittens or socks for the homeless and dropping them off at a local library. Click here for more information on where to drop off your knitted items.

Donate toys: Donate toys to the Chum Wish Foundation. Click here for more information.

I posted these organizations with links to their websites, not to have you make donations to these causes, but to show some opportunities to reach out and help out at this time of the year. I also encourage you to think of what organizations you believe in and visit their websites to make a donation. I made a small donation to both Wishing Well Sanctuary and Covenant House tonight and I volunteered at the Chum Wish Foundation today. It makes me feel so happy to help others and give back my time and a monetary donation to those less fortunate. I will continue to donate my time and some funds towards charities and organizations each Christmas. I would like to make a sinking fund and put some money aside all year to donate more towards charities.

Do you volunteer and/or donate to charities each year?

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today. I hope that you are enjoying the holiday season and I will be back tomorrow for Blogmas day 12!