The Christmas season is a time to remember the gift we’ve been given and the gifts we give to others in our lives. It’s also a good time to give back to people who truly need it — people fighting for change in their community, people who are looking for food or clothing or financial assistance. Volunteering typically increases over the months of November and December. And while it’s great to help out organizations in person, sometimes that’s not possible for everyone to do. Instead, many organizations could use financial assistance or simply advocates who help spread the word of their cause.
Money might be tight this year, so your ability to give may not be quite as robust as previous years — and that’s OK. Sharing these companies online raises their profile, and that’s a huge gift to non-profits as well.
Here are a few good people doing good work for important causes.
Racial Justice
The nation’s largest racial justice organization is also one of the most well-connected, advocating for change at high levels for a more equitable future.
Live Free works with churches, educating and deploying congregations into communities to help fighting for racial justice at the local level.
By mobilizing and educating Black and Brown communities, the Know Your Rights Camp helps people become more aware of their options in the face of injustice.
Prison Reform
The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
The NICJR not only works to help change the way America treats its prisoners but also works at helping educate communities, helping prevent people from getting caught up in crime in the first place.
Bryan Stevenson (author of Just Mercy, who was played by Michael B. Jordan in the movie of the same name) has done unparalleled work in the space of reforming America’s criminal justice system.
The Innocence Project uses DNA testing to help exonerate the wrongly convicted and get people who don’t belong behind bars back out on the street.
Climate Change
350 is hard at work finding solutions to the fossil fuel crisis, ensuring a transition to renewable energy sources that protects jobs and communities.
Natural Resources Defense Council
The NRDC works to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water and the wild, and to prevent special interests from undermining public interests.
Since 1987, Conservation International has helped protect more than 2.3 million square miles of land and sea across more than 70 countries.
Hunger/Clean Water
One of RELEVANT’s favorite charitable organizations out there — the brand that launched a movement and is determined to make the lack of clean water a thing of the past.
Hunger has never been bigger issue for Americans during this entire pandemic than it is right now and Feeding America is doing great work meeting the crisis with boots-on-the-ground volunteers and hot meals into homes that need them.
Convoy is one of the most effective relief organizations in the world, blowing through their goal of providing 10 million meals in 2020 to delivering over 150 million.
Education
One of the world’s most famous humanitarian aid organizations doesn’t just help keep children fed, but also makes sure they’ve got the tools and resources they need for a better future. If you can afford to sponsor one of their children, it’s absolutely something you should do.
College Possible doesn’t want anyone to go without a college education who doesn’t want one and through intensive training and curriculum in low-income communities, their dream is becoming a reality.
There’s no education like a good book and that’s something First Book aims to provide for everyone in America, helping children across the nation build their own personal library.
