Each year, I try to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family by assisting a local charity and I try to involve my daughter so she understands the importance of giving back. There are plenty of non-profit organizations throughout New Jersey hosting events to encourage public support.
Families can donate their “gently used” winter coats to at-risk men, women and children to benefit t he 16th Annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive, whose goal is to collect and distribute 50,000 coats. There are many collection sites throughout New Jersey.
Operation Shoebox NJ always accepts donations of wish list items including batteries, hygiene products and packaged goods for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. On your pre-Thanksgiving grocery store trip, you might want to pick up a few things to donate to the organization. Or for some family volunteering, check their upcoming events to see if you can volunteer with your kids to help sort and pack donations, such as the packing day on December 3.
Children also can send messages that will be sent to the troops. Operation Shoebox NJ encourages children’s participation by providing a “Color a Hero” card that they can decorate to be forwarded to the military personnel. People also can send their own letters to brighten a soldier’s holiday through the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes,
The Community Food Bank of NJ is kicking off its Annual Turkey Drive on November 19 to collect frozen turkeys & canned, non-perishable food items at locations throughout NJ. This is another great opportunity for kids to hold a food drive to benefit a local charity.
Perhaps kids would be more interested in helping a charity that relates to them such as an organization assisting children, including the well-known Toys for Tots initiatives throughout the state and the Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree sponsored by JC Penney. One Toys for Tots Drive is run by NJ Operation Toy Train, a special train that stops at selected stations on Dec 10 & 11 to collect toy donations from the public.At certain stations, kids also will get a sneak peak at Santa Claus when they drop off new, unwrapped toys.
Another Toys for Tots Drive is being hosted by the Atlantic City Aquarium. The aquarium is offering free admission to visitors who bring a new, unwrapped toy for their annual drive now through December 13.
There are other events sponsored by charities helping needy kids including:
— Holiday Fashion Show on Dec. 3 in Mt. Laurel to benefit the Ronald McDonald House- If you have an older child who loves fashion, why not make it a night out and do something good for charity as well?
— Books for Kids Drive at the Warren Township Library until Dec. 3 – Donate one of your kids’ favorite books to share the love of reading with others.
— Second Chance Toys – Involving your children in helping charities doesn’t have to be a big project. Cleaning out some old toys before the holidays is always a nice idea, but being able to donate some of them to needy kids is an even better one. Check their website for drop-off locations and special drives.
The most important thing is to find a charity that really speaks to you and your kids so that your involvement will be more meaningful.