We await Thanksgiving every year with so much joy and excitement. To many Thanksgiving marks the day that the Holiday Season begins. After a year of work, house chores, school projects, appointments, and overall hecticness, on Thanksgiving we can slow down, relax, be with our families, and eat our weight in food. However, not everyone is lucky enough to enjoy the excitement of the holidays. For homeless families, it's a time where it is cold, dark, and silent outside. They have to seek shelter, find a good coat, and be on the quest for a hot meal. Fortunately, while we are carving our turkey, there are charities working double time providing homeless families with what they need so they too can enjoy their holidays. These nonprofits are gearing up for Thanksgiving to give homeless families something to smile about these holidays.
"No Child Should Sleep Outside"
Mary's Place
Seattle, WA
Has implemented food recovery programs that provide nearly 300,000 meals a year across all of their shelter locations. Nightly pickups at their food partner locations enable them to offer families a variety of fresh, ready-made foods. Mary’s Place will accept, verify, sort, and deliver almost one million pounds of donated food this year. They share about a quarter of that recovered food with their partners in the community, food banks, and other nonprofits. They provide over 1,000 meals a day to their guests, including breakfast, lunch, and a hot dinner.
To support Mary's Place click here.
La Fondita de Jesús Puerto Rico
There are thousands of elderly people in Puerto Rico at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness. Most of them face social determinants of health that expose them daily to losing their homes, such as economic stability, education access, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context, among others. La Fondita de Jesus' Community Development Program impacts more than 1,000 older adults in Puerto Rico to prevent them from becoming homeless.
To support La Fondita de Jesús click here.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle
Seattle, WA
One of the oldest nonprofits in Seattle, for more than 100 years, St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle has provided aid to more than 100,000 people in Seattle. Their Georgetown Food Bank has served meals to over 46,000 families in the Seattle area. They continue their work by providing food to families every week. Their Georgetown Food Bank is located at 5972 Fourth Avenue South in Seattle and is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday every week from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They also have a special FACES program (Food, Assistance, Compassion & Emergency Services) every Friday that serves families experiencing homelessness.
Support St. Vincent de Paul by clicking "Donate" on their profile on NEDDIE, click here.
Share The Warmth International Los Angeles, CA
Since 2019, Share the Warmth International has been providing food, hygiene kits, clothes, care packages, haircuts, and health screenings to neighbors experiencing homelessness in the area of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. They also work internationally with underserved communities. Their work has impacted hundreds of vulnerable individuals and families.
Support Share The Warmth Inter. by clicking "Donate" on their profile on NEDDIE, click here.
"Eradicating Hunger"
El Comedor de la Kennedy
Puerto Rico
Every 10 children in Puerto Rico, between 6 and 8 go to bed without eating any food; That is, 58% of those under 18 years of age live in extreme poverty. For thousands of these, their only meal is in the school cafeteria, and on weekends many will have nothing to eat at home. El Comedor de la Kennedy currently feeds 2,000 children and 3,000 elderly people a week at 60 meeting points in the metropolitan area and throughout the island.
Support El Comedor de la Kennedy by clicking "Donate" on their profile on NEDDIE, click here.
