Giving Back During the Holidays

I was really looking forward to participating in Operation Santa this year. Operation Santa is a program that the USPS runs throughout the country. To see participating postal offices go here. How the program works: Local postal workers, individuals, and organizations or companies “adopt” the Dear Santa letters from needy children. They then shop for as many of the items requested in the letters and return to the Post Office with packages ready to mail.

Unfortunately my closest post office that offers the program is downtown and you could only stop by during certain weekday business hours (just not possible for me to get down there during the day).

So I decided to look into a different way to donate. I had heard about the Salvation Army Angel Tree before but was worried I'd run into the same problem (because of my hours I would need somewhere open on the weekends). I was thrilled to see that the Angel Tree program is now online!!! You can order your gifts online through JCPenney (and have them ship directly to the Salvation Army for free!) OR just adopt a child online and then shop wherever you want (I did my shopping at Target and Marshalls). I chose 4 children and I loved being able to pick out things for them (toys, clothing, and books). I could just picture them opening their gifts on Christmas morning and that's the best part! The Angel Tree program is now closed but you can still donate money online here

Other ways to give back:
Westside Food Bank (for my local readers)
St. Joseph's Center (for my local readers)
Toys for Tots
Feed the Children
Save the Children

How are you giving back this holiday season?