By Kendall Blank
Since the pandemic started, organizations that serve and help the community have been receiving fewer donations, yet there are more people in need of support.
Whether it’s food, gifts, time or money, there are a variety of ways to give back and make a big impact on the communities around us. Here are three large organizations that can help you get started with winter giving.
“There are many ways to get involved, we sometimes compare it to a ‘choose your own adventure,’” said Katie Adams, content and public relations manager at Treehouse, a nonprofit that provides help to youth in foster care.
YWCA’s Gift Giving Program
YWCA is a national nonprofit organization fighting to eliminate racism, empower women and stand up for social justice. Through its annual Gift Giving Program (formerly known as Adopt-A-Family) every December, people can sign up to support a family that may be experiencing homelessness.
In the past, donors would get paired up with a family, go shopping for gifts and then give them to the head of the household. When the pandemic hit, YWCA moved to a gift card model where donors purchased gift cards for the family they were paired with rather than physical gifts.
“We found that the gift card model was really empowering for our program participants, and we got a lot of feedback that they really liked being able to go out and buy gifts for their children themselves,” said Liz Hill, senior regional corporate relations and major giving officer at YWCA.
The children of receiving families request gift cards to specific stores, so there’s still that personalization piece that donors love, and parents can also suggest stores for their gift cards. Kids receive two $75 gift cards, each to a different store of their choice, and parents get one $150 gift card for groceries.
“This year, folks can go to the Winter Giving page on our website and let us know the size of the family they would like to take on through our registration form, and then we match them with a participating family,” said Hill.
Donors should register on their website by Nov. 30 to allow enough time for family pairing and purchasing and delivering the gift cards. More deadline information can be found on their website.
Gifts are given out on a needs basis with their tiered system that starts with families in their homelessness program, and then goes down the list towards participants with permanent housing.
“With inflation, the costs of food and gas are going up and a lot of our program participants just need money to get basic needs,” Hill said.
“The families are always so grateful, and on the converse side of that, donors are so excited to give to this program which is always really fun to see.”
Treehouse
“Treehouse is a Washington state nonprofit that supports youth in foster care. Our mission is to give youth in foster care a childhood and a future,” said Katie Adams, Treehouse content and public relations manager.
The organization has two main aspects: One provides gifts, school supplies, jackets and other items to youth in foster care. The other is academic and is all about removing academic barriers through, for example, tutoring, job interview preparation and helping teens get their driver’s license.
The Treehouse store, located on 24th Avenue South in Seattle, stays stocked throughout the year. “Our Treehouse store is a free store that provides high-quality goods to youth in foster care and their caregivers,” said Adams.
During the holidays they bring back a program with a state agency to provide a special gift to youth in foster care in Washington.
“We have a program called Holiday Magic, which is in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), and they provide us with a list every year with the youth that are currently in the system. Then we are able to get in contact with them through sending them a postcard so that we can provide them with a gift,” Adams said.
Kids look at the provided gift guides, pick two items, and then receive one of the two through the mail. Most of the gifts on the gift guide come from large company donations. This year Amazon donated 800 Fire Tablets, Coach donated 300 wristlets and Element gave a large discount so that Treehouse could purchase 150 skateboards.
More kids are receiving these special gifts because of the pandemic, which required mailing the gifts instead of in-store pickup. They’re continuing to offer shipping so that they can expand their footprint to reach as many kids as possible within Washington state.
This year, people can support Treehouse by hosting and participating in collection drives to donate items to the store. Treehouse is always accepting donations and emphasizes quality over quantity so recipients get items that will last. Companies, community groups and organizations host drives with a specific focus, such as jackets, denim, hygiene products or toys.
Another way to support Treehouse is through volunteering for one of their Holiday Helper shifts. Volunteers go to the Treehouse store and help with customer service, keep the floor stocked and organize and sort donations. This is the store’s busiest time of year, and many kids in foster care only visit the store during the holidays, so volunteers are always needed.
Some other options that are less time intensive include donating directly to the organization through their website’s fundraising page as well as purchasing items for the store off their Amazon wish list.
Last year, Treehouse provided a special gift to 4,134 youth in foster care across Washington state through their Holiday Magic program.
“It might seem simple as just a gift, but it goes a really long way just to show the youth that someone supports them,” said Adams.
Multi-Service Center (MSC)
“MSC is a nonprofit that serves South King County, and we work primarily with households that are low income or very low income to provide them with resources and support to help them create pathways out of poverty,” said Sarah McNiesh, development director at MSC.
As the name suggests, the Multi-Service Center provides many forms of support to residents of Federal Way, including housing support, energy assistance, help with resumes and cover letters, the Federal Way Food Bank and a program for youth and young adults working toward their GED.
The Federal Way Food Bank – run by MSC – does holiday food distributions and collects a variety of typical holiday foods, such as stuffing, gravy mixes, frozen turkeys and baking mixes, as well as other everyday food donations. Their food bank is set up market style so that people can come and pick out what they like and what fits their traditions. In addition to food, they’re also collecting holiday decorations so that people can decorate their homes.
This is the first year since COVID-19 that the Federal Way Food Bank will be fully back in person, market style. They still encourage people to mask up, social distance and stay safe while visiting, but are excited to welcome people back in during the holidays.
Organizations and companies can hold food drives to help support the food bank and they’re always accepting volunteers to come and work shifts at the food bank. All physical donations – both during and outside of the holidays – can be brought to their Federal Way Office.
McNiesh said that monetary donations through their website are always incredibly helpful and appreciated because they allow them to provide year-round services beyond the food bank. If someone donates money to MSC between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Winton Charitable Trust will match donations up to $10,000 total.
MSC also partners with Federal Way Cares for Kids to distribute within the Federal Way School District, helping families who may need a little extra support during the holidays.
McNiesh shared that it’s amazing to see how everyone comes together to provide support and help out, especially during the holidays.
“It’s seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they come through, and the abundance of care given by the community to make sure that people have a really happy holiday season,” said McNiesh.
List of Seattle food banks: https://www.seattlefoodcommittee.org/find-a-food-bank/
Website links and donation drop off addresses:
YWCA Gift Giving Program: https://www.ywcaworks.org/support/winter-giving
Address: 2820 E. Cherry Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Treehouse: https://www.treehouseforkids.org/take-action/give/
Address: Located on the 1st floor of the 2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144
Multi-Service Center: https://mschelps.org/getinvolved/donations/holidaygiving/
Address: 1200 S. 336th St., Federal Way
