During Thanksgiving, American families come together to celebrate everything that they have to be thankful for. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who are unable to celebrate the holiday for various reasons. They might not have enough food; they might suffer from homelessness, or they might not have any friends or family members to celebrate with. This post looks at a couple of different ways that you can help less fortunate Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this year.
Food Drive
Holding a food drive is one of the best ways to help those in need. Move For Hunger has some helpful resources to get you started. One of the easiest ways to get started is to get your coworkers involved. First, do some research and find a local food bank in your area. Then let your coworkers know that you’re collecting cans and other nonperishable items. If you work in a large organization, you can set up multiple collection boxes throughout the area. You can even make it a competition by splitting up different departments into teams. The team that donates the most cans wins a gift card or catered lunch.
Volunteer At A Homeless Shelter
November is a great time to volunteer if you haven’t volunteered recently. While many individuals and families think it’s a good idea to volunteer at local shelters on the day of Thanksgiving, the truth is that Thanksgiving is one of the most popular days to volunteer. It’s more helpful if you volunteer on a random day in November when shelters are shorthanded. If you need help finding a local shelter, you can use this site.
Deliver A Meal
Meals On Wheels’ current campaign is called “America, Let’s Do Lunch.” The organization asks that people donate their lunch hour and deliver a meal to a senior in need. Many seniors can no longer cook or shop for themselves. Additionally, some seniors don’t have frequent visitors, so in addition to delivering food, you can also deliver your smile and friendship.
Visit An Assisted Living Center
If there is an assisted living center in your area, you should consider volunteering sometime during November. Many centers encourage volunteers to assist with different programs such as music class, painting class, or game night. Spending time with friends during the holiday season is just as important as eating a healthy meal. By volunteering at an assisted living center, you’ll ensure that the residents have fun and enjoy themselves this Thanksgiving season.
Other Ideas
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what you’re thankful for and help others who are less fortunate. One of the easiest ways to help others is to look around your house and see if there is anything you want to donate, like extra clothes or kitchen supplies. Also, humans aren’t the only ones who need help this season. If you’re an animal lover you should volunteer at an animal shelter or foster a kitten/puppy for a couple of weeks. Whatever you do this season, hopefully you enjoy yourself so much that you want to volunteer more often and not just during the Thanksgiving season.