Welcome to the Holiday Countdown! Today is Day 1 of a fun new activity every day from now until we ring in the New Year! Today is a day of thanks and gratitude so the Holiday Countdown will begin with ways that you can help others in need this holiday season and beyond. Below is a comprehensive list of ways to donate, volunteer and serve your community.
Preparing, Serving & Delivering Food
Help to feed those who cannot afford or are unable to make a meal.
- The United Way of Central Maryland – Harvest of Plenty
Through the United Way of Central Maryland, families can help assemble and distribute complete Thanksgiving meals for the needy at dozens of convenient locations throughout the state. Each year, the United Way donates more than 3,000 complete Thanksgiving dinners to families in need, and many local churches and community centers help with this process. If you are unable to volunteer, monetary donations are accepted.
100 S Charles St., Baltimore. 410-547-8000
- Catholic Charities of Baltimore
Catholic Charities programs now has in-person, inside volunteer opportunities and in-person outside opportunities. They also have remote and virtual volunteer opportunities. Email volunteer@cc-md.org on how to get involved. If you’d like to help donate money, food or supplies, please see cc-md.org/covid19 or email helpnow@cc-md.org to offer a donation or ask a question about where to deliver a donation.
- Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels, an organization that provides meals to homebound seniors and disabled individuals, needs volunteers to help deliver meals during the holiday season and beyond. Volunteers (ages 14 and up) can serve as many times a month as they like with opportunities in meal delivery, packaging, grocery assistance, donating and pet food delivery. 410-558-0827
- Light House Shelter
There are off-site volunteer opportunities including donations of food and supplies, providing a meal through the Light House Bistro, fundraising, and bagged lunches. For questions about volunteering, please email volunteers@annapolislighthouse.org.
443-569-4211. 2023 Fall Holiday Meal Drive Sign-Up open now. Click Here to sign up!
- We Care and Friends
We Care and Friends, a non-profit organization in Annapolis, is dedicated to creating strong families and communities in areas affected by drugs, poverty, and crime in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. We Care and Friends is a grass-roots organization who depends on volunteers to support outdoor lunch programs, fundraisers, mentoring, or our reentry program. Check the website for open opportunities and events or email larry@wecareandfriends.org. 410-263-2874
- Beans and Bread
St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore has multiple ways to deliver meals to those in need, including making volunteer-bagged lunches to deliver to the homeless, serving hot meals for holiday dinners and adopting families for the holidays. For volunteering opportunities, please email volunteer@vincentbaltimore.org.
- Happy Helpers for the Homeless
Happy Helpers for the Homeless engages young people, their parents, and community organizations in preparing food and goods for the needy, bringing love and necessities directly to homeless people every weekend, no matter the weather and including holidays. For more information, please email happyhelpersforthehomeless1@yahoo.com
Food Drives
Food drives are an easy way to provide nourishment to those who need it most.
- Maryland Food Bank
Maryland Food Bank operates facilities in Baltimore, Hagerstown and Salisbury that distribute more than 120,000 meals per day. Donate food, volunteer for pantry organization or begin an online campaign to provide hungry families with a holiday meal this season. Volunteer families can also schedule appointments to help load, pack and sort food at a local branch, or help with administrative work or fundraising efforts. Call the branch nearest to you for specific food needs, or go online to create a food donation campaign for your family.
- Feed Anne Arundel
Donate money or volunteer time to Feed Anne Arundel, which originated in the spring of 2020 and has brought together numerous restaurants and donations to keep those in Anne Arundel from going hungry. For more information and ways to help support Feed Anne Arundel, please email feedannearundel@gmail.com.
- Anne Arundel Food Bank
Donate food, volunteer for pantry organization or begin an online campaign to provide hungry families with a holiday meal this season. The Anne Arundel Food Bank collects food and goods to distribute through local pantries and on-site feeding agencies that receive food to distribute to those in need in our county.
- Feed it Forward at Bread and Butter Kitchen
At Bread and Butter Kitchen, you can purchase gift cards for $15, (which would cover the cost of a full meal & drink), & gift cards would be distributed to those in need, distributed to several local organizations including, Eastport Elementary School, St. Luke’s Food Pantry, the Office of Emergency Management, Homeless Outreach Coordinators, and the local police department. The best part of the program is that it supports the community and the small business.
Clothing Drives
During these cold months, donate your warm winter clothes to those who consider a coat a luxury.
- Giving Back, Linda’s Legacy
GBLL is an all volunteer, 501(C)3 non-profit based in Anne Arundel County, Maryland whose Christmas Drive to Help the Homeless delivers over 20 truck loads of clothing annually to homeless shelters in the Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, DC on Christmas Eve. GBLL will be collecting coats, hats, gloves, new/gently used warm clothing all ages/both genders, sleeping bags, blankets, toys, travel size toiletries, new underwear and baby items such as diapers, baby seats, clothes and formula, and non-perishable food items.
- One Warm Coat
Ask your family to round up their old, gently-worn coats to donate to needy and homeless children, women, and men who cannot afford them all across Maryland. For some of those in poverty, a winter spent without a coat is a harsh reality. Visit the website to find the closest donation center near you. Monetary donations are also accepted—just $1 provides two coats. 877-663-9276
- Call for Coats
Admiral Cleaners collects coats every October and November for those in need. Our team then cleans these coats and donates them to numerous local charitable organizations. Over the last three decades, we have donated over 100,000 coats. To donate a coat, or coordinate a pickup, call 410-267-8381, email customerservice@admiralcleaners.com or visit admiralcleaners.com for a list of locations.
Toy Drives
Be the Santa for a needy child who otherwise might not receive a gift this holiday season.
- Toys for Tots
The mission of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys and to distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver these new toys at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate children, that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens. Contact baltimore.md@toysfortots.org for more information on where to donate or to start a donation site. - The Children’s Home Holiday Gift Drive
For a child away from home, the holidays can be an especially tough time. The Children’s Home in Catonsville, MD asks for your help to make this a season of delight and celebration. This year’s Holiday Gift Drive will provide gifts and activities for the many kids who rely upon The Children’s Home for safety and care. Please visit our website and consider donating an item or two from our residents’ wish lists during one of our drop-off days. The Children’s Home, 205 Bloomsbury Ave, Catonsville, MD.
Donations to Children’s Hospitals
Help to brighten a young patient’s day through a charitable donation.
- Child’s Play
Child’s Play seeks to improve the lives of children in hospitals around the world through the donation of toys, books and games. Families can send a financial donation to be used for purchasing gaming devices for children’s hospital wings or go online and search the Amazon wish list of more than 70 hospitals nationwide. In Maryland, Child’s Play has partnered with the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. View Johns Hopkins Amazon Wish List at Amazon.com - St. Jude’s
At the St. Jude’s Gift Shop, families can choose to donate any monetary amount to help children with cancer, but the St. Jude’s Gift shop also allows donors to choose how they want to help through specific events or materials for a patient. Sponsor a No Mo’ Chemo party for a patient for $25, purchase a wagon to transport a patient to treatments for $75, or share the cost of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a bone marrow treatment. 800-746-1539
Supporting Shelters, Families & Other Collections
Improve the welfare of needy families through donations.
- Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services
You can deliver gifts, food and clothing directly to a needy family or senior through the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services Holiday Sharing program. Families can specify what kind of family and how many people they would like to give to. Donors may even choose the geographical area that is convenient for them. Families can sign up online or contact the program directly to choose a specific giving opportunity. 80 West St., Annapolis; 410-269-4462. - YWCA of Anne Arundel County
Support women and children fleeing from domestic abuse. Visit the organization’s headquarters in Arnold to adopt a family or an individual rebuilding a life after the tragedy of abuse. 1517 Ritchie Highway, Suite 201, Arnold, 410-626-7800. - House of Ruth
House of Ruth is an organization located in Maryland that provides shelter, food, counseling, and more for women and children. Item donations help clothe, feed and nourish those seeking help and support. Clothing, hygiene supplies, books, toys, craft supplies and linens are some of the items that are needed. 2201 Argonne Dr., Baltimore, 410-889-0840. - Walk of Christmas
The Walk the Walk Foundation needs sponsors to purchase gifts for families in need. Volunteers can also help deliver the gifts to the families, giving it a personal touch. Now serving families in Anne Arundel County.
Pet Shelter Drives
Aid local shelters by donating supplies, food, and toys for unadopted animals.
- Friends of Anne Arundel County Animal Control
From providing food, toys and blankets to the shelter, to offering emergency assistance for injured shelter animals, the Friends of Anne Arundel County Animal Control is there. Donations of cash, gift certificates, dog and cat food and toys are especially needed during the holidays and the rate of surrenders tends to go up.
- Maryland SPCA for Pets
Animal lovers can donate treats and new cat and dog toys for homeless animals at the Maryland SPCA Adoption Center in Baltimore or at the Anne Arundel County SPCA. Families can also donate gently used towels and blankets or empty toilet and paper towel rolls to be used to create cat toys.
- Small Miracles Cat & Dog Shelter
Help to keep this shelter properly stocked during the holiday season by shopping from its Amazon wish list, where you and your family can choose what kind of gifts to give to the animals of the shelter. Pedigree wet dog food is a high priority. Monetary donations are also accepted.
10236 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, 410-461-0516.
Click here for more information on Maryland Food Banks by County: https://wordpress-938214-4066445.cloudwaysapps.com/holiday-donations-needed/