November 29 is #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.
One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. Here are 25 local programs worthy of your consideration this holiday season.
Holiday Giving Programs
Newburyport-based Christmas Tree Santas provides donated trees to families in need. (Click here to read our interview with founder Alex Gramling.)
Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center Holiday Giving Program
JGCC offers three options for holiday giving: purchasing gift cards, participating in its annual book drive, or adopting a family.
Businesses and Programs:
Lucy's Love Bus Holiday Giving Tower Challenge
This is a special holiday fundraiser for Lucy’s Love Bus, an Amesbury nonprofit dedicated to helping area kids beat cancer. (Click here to read our article on how this program is using virtual technology to engage kids in charitable giving.)
Donate new, unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program. Click here to find a partial list of drop-off locations near you. (Additional donation opportunities include both Newburyport fire stations, the Amesbury Community Television annual toy drive on December 6, and the Amesbury Christmas Lights Extravaganza through December 25.) The deadline for donations at most dropoff locations is December 16.
YMCA Merrimack Valley Toy Drive
Drop off new, unwrapped toys in the donation box at Heav'nly Donuts in Amesbury to support YMCA Merrimack Valley's annual toy drive.
YWCA of Greater Newburyport Secret Elves Program
YWCA volunteer/donation opportunities include donating gift cards, filling stockings for elders, providing a holiday meal for those in need, or adopting a family.
Area Malls
Liberty Tree Mall
The Giving Trees have returned to Liberty Tree Mall for a sixth holiday season with two trees on display - one supporting Haven From Hunger and the other supporting The Salvation Army USA. Each tree features ornaments with the wishes of people in need, and shoppers are invited to fulfill a wish by selecting an ornament and purchasing the item listed on it. Unwrapped gifts, along with their corresponding ornaments, will be collected at a table next to Kids for Less on December 10-11 and December 17-18, from 12 PM-3 PM.
The Mall at Fox Run
The Mall at Fox Run will host a Giving Tree in collaboration with Rockingham Community Action to collect presents for families in need throughout the holiday season. Shoppers can choose tags for children from the tree, which will be located in the Food Court, and drop off unwrapped presents with the tags at Guest Services. Donations will be collected through December 20.
The Mall at Fox Run and Northshore Mall
Bring your letters to Santa and look for the big red mailbox at any Macy's location - the retailer will donate $1 to Make a Wish for every letter "mailed" to the North Pole.
Northshore Mall
Stop by the JCPenney Court on December 3 from 10 AM-2 PM to help Mix 104.1 Morning Show's Karson & Kennedy with their 10,000 Toys For Girls And Boys toy drive. Bring a new, unwrapped toy, and make a local child’s holiday wish come true.
Year-Round Donations
The "season of giving" should last all year! Please consider these local nonprofits when planning your next charitable donation.
Haverhill-based Anchor of Hope Diaper Bank provides free diapers to area families in need and frequently holds diaper drives in the Newburyport area.
Headquartered in Boxford, Community Giving Tree provides low-income families in northeastern Massachusetts with clothing, baby equipment and other basic necessities. They hold monthly collections on the third Saturday of the month at Kent Street park in Newburyport.
Ipswich Caring is a community-based charity for children in the Ipswich area. Cash donations can be made out and mailed to Ipswich Caring at PO Box 584 in Ipswich. If you have new toys, clothing, books or other items to donate, please send board member Ellen Keaney Kallman a private message via Facebook.
The local chapter of the Salvation Army provides a wide range of services and assistance programs and holds regular food drives for area families.
Our Neighbors’ Table is an Amesbury food pantry "committed to establishing a community that provides for the whole person with nourishing food, kindness and dignity."
Pettengill House offers education and case management services for area families and helps provide basic needs via its Salisbury food pantry and programs such as its annual coat drive.
Towers of Gifts for Newborns in Need
TOGFNIN works with local aid agencies and hospitals to deliver "towers" of new-baby basics to parents in need. (Click here to read our interview with founder Susan Karalias.)
Please note that many schools and religious organizations host their own holiday giving programs as well!
Do you know of a worthy aid organization or program located within our coverage area of Amesbury, Byfield, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, Plum Island, Rowley, Salisbury, or West Newbury? Please email shannongaither@macaronikid.com and tell us about it!
Macaroni Kid Newburyport is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and information in 8 towns on Boston's North Shore. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in Amesbury, Byfield, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury, and West Newbury.
