10 Nonprofit’s to Support for Giving Tuesday
Written by My Local Utah
We are all excited about the upcoming holidays, but what about giving back during the holiday season? Following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday inspires “generosity around the world” and “encourages people to do good.” There is no right way to give, whether you’re giving your time to a friend or giving food to someone in need, but one of our favorite ways is donating to a non-profit. This helps to eliminate the stress of knowing how to give, by letting a trusted and knowledgeable non-profit organization use your money in the best way to help the community. To make this Giving Tuesday even smoother, we compiled a list of some local Utah non-profit organizations that are great options to support.
The Trails Foundation’s goal is to “plan, promote, preserve, construct, and maintain a network of public pathways, trails, and related open spaces” throughout Northern Utah. They work to maintain trails, including bridges and signs, so the community can continue to use them. The Trails Foundation hosts events such as Northern Utah Trailfest: “a festival for outdoor enthusiasts” with food, live music, activities, and races.
United Way of Utah County strives to create financial stability, social, and emotional health, and promote early education. They provide parents, caregivers, and neighbors the tools needed for childhood education, youth social and emotional health, and the financial stability of local families. Their annual Sub for Santa program is coming up, which helps provide Christmas to over 1500 families in the community.
RRCI Empowering People with Disabilities:
Located in St. George, RRCI “serves people of all ages with any type of disability.” RRCI’s services include independent living skills training, Youth Programs, and peer support, in nine Southwestern Utah counties. Their programs help connect people with disabilities and help them learn how to live their life, whether a younger child or a grown adult.
Open Doors is in Davis County. This Holiday season they are feeding over 400 families for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each donation makes it possible for families to be able to celebrate the holidays. Inflation has hit, and people are in need now more than ever. There has been a 60% increase in their food pantry production, just this year alone. Open Doors is partnered with Toys for Tots and there are donating locations all around, from Morgan County to Davis. The mission of Open Doors is to empower families and individuals to overcome abuse and poverty to attain self-reliance.” They aim to shape communities to be free of poverty and abuse and help people see how important they are in their community. Their programs include a food bank, homeless prevention, emergency assistance, and more. Open Doors encourages others to find their best selves and helps them along the way.
OWCAP strives to improve self-sufficiency through services and collaboration to support individuals and families in pursuing their dreams. They are partnered with Head Start Programs that promote school readiness in young children, provide health exams, and help families and children build positive and goal-oriented relationships. They have a mix of programs, and work with community partners, to provide resources to individuals and families. The programs they offer have a wide variety such as tax assistance, housing and rental, employment, and education. They work to improve self-sufficiency within the community and address challenges with day-to-day lifestyles, as well as suicide prevention.
Safe Harbor provides shelter, supportive services, and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as education, awareness, and resources to the community. Safe Harbor strives for empowerment, welcoming all, and offering a path to safety. This Holiday season Safe Harbor is Partnering with Sub for Santa, helping families during the holiday season. Safe Harbor has been providing shelter and supportive services to meet the needs of domestic violence survivors, sexual assault survivors, and children impacted by violence since 1997, their services are growing and evolving to meet the complex needs of survivors. Your donations make it possible for all their services to be provided for free.
“Youth Impact’s purpose is to respect, protect, serve and instill hope in the children of Ogden, and through them, our community.” Youth Impact has a variety of programs featuring arts and crafts, recreational sports, and STEM, with dinner served daily and a ride home every day. Youth Impact also provides new or gently used clothes, shampoo, and more donations to community members in need.
Whispering Canyons, in Logan, “provides teen girls the opportunity to learn horsemanship in a fun, safe, and supervised environment.” Each girl is provided a horse, equipment, individual mentoring, and training. Whispering Canyons teaches girls responsibility, self-control, empathy, courage, and patience while providing physical exercise.
The goal of SouthWeset Utah is to “implement policies that balance growth and economic development with conservation and stewardship of the land, air, and water resources to benefit our citizens, both present and future.” They focus on conserving public land, promoting efficient water usage, and sustainable development in southwestern Utah.
Located in Layton, Gigi’s Playhouse is a Down Syndrome achievement center that educates and inspires. They strive “to increase positive awareness of Down Syndrome through national campaigns, educational programs, and by empowering individuals with Down syndrome” and their families. They accomplish this through a variety of programs and events such as their upcoming Gala.
Don’t forget to take a little time to give this Giving Tuesday, and remember, everyone has something to give.