Giving Tuesday falls on November 28 this year. Non-profits in Boston and worldwide are participating by offering charitable matches and other incentives to encourage people to give this holiday season! Local organizations are partaking in this worldwide day of giving. Here are a few great ones to know and check out now:
1. Project Bread
Project Bread is the leading statewide food security organization in Massachusetts with a radical approach to ending hunger. Beginning in 1969 with the first, community-led Walk for Hunger, the nonprofit focuses on driving systemic change through the levers of policy, prevention, and partnerships to ensure people of all ages have reliable access to healthy food. The organization also captures data and trends on barriers that people face when seeking to utilize nutrition assistance programs.
“Hunger can often be an invisible issue, affecting people in every community across our Commonwealth,” says Erin McAleer, President and CEO of Project Bread. “For many people, hunger only comes to mind during the holidays, when planning for large gatherings centered around meals. However, families need reliable access to food year-round to live a healthy life. At Project Bread, we work on improving food security through multiple methods developed for sustainable solutions to ending hunger.”
Learn more about Project Bread.
2. David Ortiz Children’s Fund
From December 1-3, ten-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion and MLB Hall of Famer David Ortiz will host his 15th annual David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic on Marco Island, FL, to benefit the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. It’s unofficially known as the “weekend with Big Papi.”
Funds from the organization directly support various programs including lifesaving cardiology surgeries, training for emergency workers as well as support for families and Child Life Specialists in MGHfC’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The David Ortiz “Weekend with Papi” Celebrity Golf Classic directly benefits the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which was founded in 2007 in partnership with CEDIMAT Hospital, to provide pediatric cardiac surgeries and care in the Dominican Republic. In 2009, the Fund partnered with MassGeneral Hospital for Children to extend its life-saving mission to New England.
“It’s been a wild year following my Hall of Fame induction and I’m ready to get back to doing what I love most by helping kids and giving back,” said David Ortiz. “I always tell my kids that no matter where I am or what I am doing, if I can help someone… that has to come first. I was put at home plate to do something special and I’m continuing that mindset off the field.”
Learn more about the David Ortiz Children’s Fund.
3. Food For Free
Food For Free is one of the oldest food rescue organizations in the nation. Founded by a group of volunteers in Cambridge in the 1980s, the nonprofit has grown over four decades to provide 6.25 million meals to 150,000 individuals in 27 Eastern Massachusetts communities annually. The organization acquires rescued, donated, and purchased food from several sources, including grocery stores, farms, universities, hospitals, and corporate dining facilities, and delivers it to emergency food programs, schools and colleges, youth programs, and other programs that reach food-insecure individuals.
“We are addressing twin problems — food waste and food insecurity — and that’s something that affects everyone in every community,” says Jessica Cantin, CEO of Food For Free. “If you’ve ever cooked a Thanksgiving dinner you know that there will always be leftovers, or a surplus in this instance. Well, at Food For Free we work year-round to help ensure that no one needs to worry about where their next meal is coming from by creating partnerships and pathways to keep food out of landfills and bridge access gaps in local communities.”
Learn more about Food for Free.
4. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts
In its first year, “Big Brother Association of Boston” matched 10 boys with adult volunteers. Over the past seven decades, the organization, now Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM), has grown into the largest youth mentoring agency in New England. Today, the nonprofit serves 4,000 boys and girls annually over 150 communities from the Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod and the Islands. While the agency’s leadership, innovations and technology have changed over the last 75 years, its steadfast commitment to its mission remains the same: creating long-lasting one-to-one relationships between children and caring adults who will ignite their fullest potential.
“Our secret to such longevity has been our ability to meet youth, families and our adult volunteers where they are and provide programming tailored to meet their needs in real time,” says Mark O’Donnell, the current President and CEO of BBBSEM. “We’ve learned a lot over the past 75 years, but the nation got a crash course over the last three years as to why we still exist. Our organization fosters connections and bridges gaps in our communities helping to support youth physically, socially, academically, and emotionally to shape the Bay State’s next generation of leaders and mentors.”
Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts.