COMMUNITY

5 Niagara Charities to Support This Holiday Season

The best gifts you can give your community are your time, skills and generosity.

By Bob Nelson

Many animal shelters need dog walkers all year round. | PHOTO: GETTYIMAGES/UNSPLASH+

When the temperature drops, need goes up. Winter brings higher heating bills and more pressure on grocery budgets. People without stable housing face uncertainty. Across Niagara, food banks, shelters and support agencies see demand rise just as volunteers get busy with holiday plans.

A cheque or a bag of groceries always helps, but many local charities will tell you that your time can be just as valuable. An hour walking dogs at a shelter frees staff for animal care. An afternoon sorting donations gets food onto shelves faster. If you’re an accountant, carpenter, marketer or retired teacher, your professional skills can save an organization money it would otherwise need to spend.

However you can help, the gratitude remains the same. Here are five Niagara organizations doing important work this winter and how you can get involved.

Giving tip: Before you drop off goods, call ahead or check the charity’s website. Needs change quickly, and many organizations post a current wish list. If you’re not sure what to give, cash is almost always the most flexible gift.

A volunteer serves soup at a community food event

A black dog licks a colourful lollipop in its mouth against a purple background

(Left) Start Me Up Niagara helps feed people in need. (Right) Taking portrait photos of adoptable dogs is one way to help animal shelters. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF START ME UP NIAGARA; COURTESY OF HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER NIAGARA

Start Me Up Niagara

For people experiencing homelessness, poverty or other barriers, winter can be a formidable foe. Start Me Up Niagara’s drop-in resource centre in St. Catharines offers practical help through the coldest months, including clothing, food and medical support. Its programs cover housing, employment and transportation, so it helps people with what they need today and what they’ll need next.

How to help: Donate funds or warm clothing, or sign up to volunteer.

FEED Niagara

FEED Niagara represents 10 accredited food banks across the region, including Project Share, Community Care and the Hope Centre. Beyond providing food, these food banks offer year-round services such as housing help, family support, and health and wellness programs. CAA Niagara Members may know FEED Niagara through the club’s Big Food Boost campaign.

How to help: A cash donation goes a long way because food banks buy in bulk and can buy exactly what’s needed. You can also give food or volunteer.

Humane Society of Greater Niagara

The Humane Society of Greater Niagara — a CAA Niagara partner — is always looking for volunteers to help both at events and for everyday tasks like walking dogs, cleaning and helping with administration.

How to help: Drop off blankets and food, make a financial gift or volunteer.

A group of three carry different pieces of furniture out of a house

Donations — or help sorting and transporting them — are always welcome. | PHOTO: ASTRAKANIMAGES/ENVATO

United Way Niagara

United Way Niagara funds and works alongside a network of local programs that deal with poverty, mental health, housing and more. It also connects volunteers with opportunities across the region.

How to help: Make a donation, join a workplace campaign or volunteer.

Habitat for Humanity Niagara

Lack of safe, affordable housing is at the root of many of the challenges families face, and Habitat for Humanity Niagara helps families build strength and stability through affordable homeownership. You don’t need to swing a hammer to help. Habitat’s ReStore takes donations of furniture, appliances and building materials and sells them to fund its work, and it needs volunteers in the store as well as on build sites.

How to help: Donate money or gently used household goods to the ReStore, shop there or volunteer.