Helping Out!
By: Marisa Barrera
When you think of Christmas, do you see warm hugs, laughing smiles, or full belly’s? Most of Americans experience these things every Christmas, unfortunetly some don’t get the chance. Every year, numerous charities around the country, have one goal in mind; help others experience the magic of Christmas as well.
Elf Louise is a charity that helps kids who don’t receive presents during Christmas because there parents can’t afford to purchase them. They are a non profit organization, of every cash donation 98 cents of every dollar goes to wrapping, purchasing or delivery of toys. You can donate toys by dropping them off in local toy drop locations. Also, you can donate by going on Amazon and add the items to your shopping cart and have them shipped to Elf Louise.
Another holiday charity is Adopt a Hero For Christmas. This charity sponsors wounded soldiers and their families during the holiday season. They accept cash donations and gifts. You can help by donating a unwrapped gift to a wounded warrior, their spouse, or their children. Here are some of the gift ideas they provide:
Toddlers:
Basic blocks
Count & Compose Piano – Baby Einstein
Baby Tunes Player – Vtech
Ring or block stackers – Fisher-Price
Bath toys
Tea time sets
Kitchen sets
Sing-A-Ma-Jigs
Pre-teen:
Legos
Lincoln Logs
Art sets – Crayola
Barbie
FurReal Puppy
Nerf
Easy Bake Ovens
RipStick (RipStik) Skateboards
Bikes
Scooters
K’Nex Building Sets
Action figures – Transformers, GI Joe, Beyblade, Tron, WWE, Toy Story, Iron Man, Kung Zhu
Hot Wheels
Pillow Pets
Monster High Dolls
Sporting goods – Baseballs & bats, Soccer balls, Basketballs, Volleyballs, Softballs & bats
Teen:
Bikes
Remote control cars
RipStick (RipStik) Skateboards
Skateboards
Digital Camera
MP3 Players
Sporting goods – Baseballs & bats, Soccer balls, Basketballs, Volleyballs, Softballs & bats
Women:
Make-up kits
Victoria Secret – PJ’s, Body washes, Body lotions, Body sprays
Blankets / Throws
Bath & Body Works – Body washes, lotions, & sprays
Philosophy – Body washes, lotions
Men:
Craftsman Tools & Tool Boxes
Electric Razors
DVD Player (w/extra batteries)
DVDs
Books, magazines: hot rod, motorcycle, photography, sports
non-USA flag or banner signed with thanks & encouragement: i.e. school, sports team
(Note: why a non-USA flag? – It is considered disrespectful to alter a USA flag)Fishing equipment – rods, bait
General:
Stuffed animals (20” or smaller)
Gift cards (Wal-mart, iTunes, Target, Sears, etc.)
Project Linus is a charity that gives kids blankets. These kids have either been through a serious illness, or have been througha traumatic event. Project Linus makes sure that these children have something to snuggle up with. Volunteers create homemade, washable blankets of all sizes and styles and distribute them to kids “in need of a big hug.” Since 1995, Project Linus has given 673,000 blankets to children in countries around the world.If you want to contribute a homemade blanket, the organization offers patterns on its Website and provides links to local chapters.
Having a child with a terminal illness is heartbreaking enough, but the grief is compounded when the disease is so rare that scientists haven’t even gotten around to studying it. Debby Bookman’s two children have such an illness: a variant of Glycogen Storage Disease Type IV, a metabolic disorder that affects only seven children in the United States.
Bookman is desperately trying to raise $500,000 to pay for research so doctors can learn more about the disease. The Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, mom hopes that some kind of gene therapy can be identified before it’s too late for her son, Mark, 12, and her daughter, Rachel, 10. (Kids with this disease have heart defects and muscle malfunction, and they rarely live past age 14.)
The Save-a-Heart Fund has already raised $100,000 for the cause. Donations can be sent to the fund, care of the Philadelphia Foundation, 1234 Market Street, Suite 1800, Philadelphia, PA 19107. For more information, call 215-563-6417.
Here are some more charities that you can help!
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Features, Front Page, News
