Holiday Spirit

Just think of all those lonely times in your life when you feel desolate and bored. Not a very good feeling, but kids in the foster care system can feel like that all the time! It gets worse as they get older because they can feel severely unwanted. In the United States alone, there are 407,000 children in the foster system. Several teens or “older children” in the foster system get thrown in hotel rooms during the holidays or important dates in their lives. People need more information about how we can help them while they're in the foster system and even afterward! Thankfully, there are many organizations that people can contribute to! 

     One of the prominent organizations people generally donate to is Toys for Tots! Not only does this corporation help children in foster care, but they also contribute to the happiness of children with low-income parents. Their mission is to make every child have a smile on their face during that happy Christmas day. The Toys for Tots foundation also focuses on education, giving three books and two toys per child! The U.S. government founded the nationwide humanitarian organization Toys for Tots, Marine Corps Reserve, whose regional offices organize charitable giving. Gifts from Toys for Tots are distributed directly to individual families and to charitable organizations that help those in need. A local Marine manages the Toys for Tots initiative in your neighborhood. October until the beginning of December is when Toys for Tots collections take place. First, buy a brand-new, unwrapped toy for a kid between the ages of birth and 16 to give it. Next, locate a nearby drop-off location. Ways you can donate are online, virtually, using the literacy program, Peer-to-Peer fundraising, Cryptocurrency, PayPal, in memory or honor, via Holiday recognition program, in support of their Native American program, Employer Gift matching, by mail, donating vehicles, planned giving, stock giving, or IRA giving. 

     Another excellent example of helping children in need is the Together We Rise Foundation. They offer Holiday boxes and bundles that you can buy that contain Holiday cards and sweet cases for the children. Together We Rise is a non-profit group of driven young adults and former foster children. Their goal is to enhance the lives of foster children, who frequently experience public neglect and forgetfulness. They work with people, businesses, and neighborhood partners to provide resources for foster youth and employ service-learning activities to inform volunteers about problems with the foster care system. TWR collaborates with hundreds of foster agencies, social workers, CASA advocates, and other partners to make our programs available to foster youngsters across the country. Their foundation has enabled them to donate brand-new bicycles, school supplies, and candy cases to thousands of foster teenagers around the nation so that kids do not have to travel with their possessions in a trash bag. Their programs are designed to give those unable to become foster parents a means to still meaningfully and successfully support foster children. Each and every donation, volunteer, participant in a service project, and partner affects the community in some way. Ways the community can get involved with this charity program are physical and virtual service activities, becoming a trusted partner, and volunteering opportunities. 

     An additional foundation is the Think Of Us foundation. People with firsthand knowledge of foster care guide and influence their work. Due to decision-makers ignoring these essential voices, decades of efforts to change this unfair system have failed. Instead, they examine the entire system to find chances with the most significant potential impact. We collaborate with real expertise to develop and co-implement unique, scalable solutions with stakeholders from throughout the ecosystem, including federal politicians, front-line employees, and everyone in between. To develop channels for impacted adolescents and families to influence practices and policies, it is important to ensure that leaders in child welfare have access to data and evidence that represents the "on-the-ground" reality of those impacted by the system. They establish scale-based closeness when this process continues. With partners around the nation, Think of Us undertakes strategic projects meant to spark transformational change. This begins with a comprehensive understanding of the issues from "living experts," such as children and families close to the system. After that, they collaborate with a wide range of partners and live experts to build, test, and iterate solutions that may or may not be used by TOU. For remedies to be comprehensive and long-lasting, they then strive to codify practical improvements into policy, alter mental models, and reroute resource flows. Their business practices are highly effective, with 88% of every dollar having a positive effect. They work closely with the nation's top, most reputable child welfare groups to pinpoint the most high-impact chances to spark transformative change. They partner with individuals with lived experience and leading specialists to design and build creative, scalable solutions. Therefore, you can rest assured that your donation will support fair, research-based, and cost-effective solutions that assist adolescents and families today and pave the way for a better future. Together, we can build a system that offers the conditions necessary for the millions of people affected by foster care to recover, grow, and thrive. 

     The holiday season is all about giving and appreciating people that are important to you! Offering to share that holiday spirit with someone else is a wonderful thing to do. Multiple foundations across the United States and the world cherish any donation! I guarantee every child that receives a gift will treasure it for a lifetime! The next time you want to give another look at the different foundations and offer a helping hand. 

 

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