If you want to make a difference in the lives of others and the world around you, now is the time! The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is known as Giving Tuesday. Since its inception in 2012, Giving Tuesday has been a movement that emphasizes philanthropy and encourages people to think charitably during the holiday season.
If you’re looking for a way to give back or to teach your kids the importance of charity, we’ve made a list of things you can do and places you can donate. Take a look below, and be sure to check out what’s happening in your area.
Community Food Bank of New Jersey
CFBNJ provides more than 85 million meals to those in need each year. By donating on Giving Tuesday, you can help fight hunger in New Jersey.
Trinitas Health Foundation
Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth operates one of the most comprehensive Departments of Behavioral Health and Psychiatry in New Jersey. Most patients are low-income, and among the most common illnesses treated are major depression disorder, psychoactive substance abuse, schizophrenic disorders, ADHD and bipolar disorder.
Broadway Cares
This non-profit provides groceries and medication, health care and hope to those in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other life-threatening illnesses.
James Beard Foundation
This foundation, named after the legendary food writer, started the Open for Good campaign to support the recovery and rebuilding of independent, locally-owned restaurants.
FOURWARD Fund
4-H’s FOURWARD Fund supports youth across all communities, with or without internet access, by ensuring all kids have access to the necessary resources.
FoodCorps
Your donation will help school districts ensure school meal sites can feed students who are out of school as well as their families.
CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort)
CORE is always on the ground, responding to devastating crises, and the organization stays until communities are built back on their feet to prepare populations for future disasters.Â
The YMCA
Consider supporting your local Y, which provides both free and fee-based wellness programs to communities, from cultural events to training sessions and swim lessons to college prep programs.
Formerly Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey, this organization provides a wide range of services to infants, children and adults with more than 100 different disabilities/diagnoses. It’s dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with disabilities and other special needs by supporting personal growth, independence and participation in the community.
Daymaker.com
Give presents to more than 28,000 kids in need, including those affected by recent natural disasters. The site has profiles of children, each with his or her own wish list.
JCC MetroWest
HINENI is a meaningful biblical word that calls on us to stand and be counted when the moment is critical and the Jewish community is in its moments of greatest need. JCC MetroWest stands humble and ready for your helping hands so it can continue to serve its community, no matter what the future holds.
New Jersey Audubon
Support local conservation and education efforts by donating to New Jersey Audubon to help wildlife.
NJ Symphony Orchestra
Music lovers can take this opportunity to donate to the state’s symphony orchestra. The generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations makes everything we do possible and enables more than 140,000 New Jerseyans to experience the NJSO and live music each year.
NJ Sharing Network
Register to be an organ and tissue donor and share on social media to spread the word. Or you can make a financial donation.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
Help St. Jude’s kids fight life-threatening diseases. No family ever receives a bill from St. Jude’s, and its research is shared freely with doctors and scientists around the world.
The United Way of Gloucester County
This nonprofit raises money for local programs that help residents with education, health and financial stability. Your donation can help them identify and address critical needs in the community.
Camp Quality USA New Jersey
This organization’s mission is to help children with cancer be kids again throughout its week-long summer camp program, as well as year-round events.
Alzheimer’s New Jersey
Support New Jersey’s fight against Alzheimer’s by making a donation that’ll go toward services for the more than 600,000 NJ residents who suffer from Alzheimer’s, training for police officers who assist people with Alzheimer’s disease, expanding education programs to help families learn caregiving strategies and more.
EarthShare New Jersey
Help EarthShare’s dedication to preserving a healthy environment in New Jersey.
Autism New Jersey
Help those on the autism spectrum connect to necessary resources and achieve their full potential.
NJ Friends of Clearwater
Donations for this organization go toward helping to educate, advocate and clean up the environment.
Rami’s Heart COVID-19 Memorial
This memorial now has a permanent home at Allaire Community Farm in Wall Twp., so donations will go toward landscaping services, the stepping stone path, accounting fees, website maintenance, storage space and events.
After-School All-Stars New JerseyÂ
ASAS NJ works to make sure its All-Stars are safe and healthy, graduate from high school and college, find careers they love and then give back to their communities. Based in Newark, ASAS NJ provides comprehensive afterschool programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and life. The chapter has recently grown to serve 20 schools, providing more than 2,000 K-8 students in the Newark community with high-quality afterschool programs at no cost to their families.
Popcorn Park Animal Refuge
Popcorn Park in Forked River is a sanctuary for animals who faced desperate circumstances and/or death, a permanent home to exotics, wildlife, farm animals and birds who suffered abandonment, cruelty, injury, illness, handicap, exploitation, old age, inappropriate ownership or who could not be safely returned to the wild.
The Raptor Trust
Just about every raptor native to NJ — barred owls, screech owls, a merlin, peregrine falcons, a Bald Eagle — live at the refuge, receiving care for their varied injuries, many of which have been caused by humans.
Make-A-Wish New Jersey
Donate to have an impact on children with serious or life-threatening illnesses to help have a wish of theirs fulfilled.
Special Olympics New Jersey
SONJ supports athletes, coaches, volunteers and supporters, providing athletic options for those with physical disabilities.
American Red Cross New Jersey
If you aren’t able to donate blood or plasma, consider making a monetary donation to support Red Cross responders who assist in a disaster and otherwise.
The Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation
The foundation’s mission is to provide education, intervention and support to families and individuals dealing with domestic violence, sexual abuse and missing loved ones. The donation you make today or any other day will allow the organization to move forward with the programs already established, as well as new programs to continue to help affected families.
Blue Line Bears
Blue Line Bears is a nonprofit organization that helps the children of fallen law enforcement officers cope with the devastating loss of a parent.
Angel Tree
Prison Fellowship equips churches to strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and children through camping, sports camps and Christmas gifts.
ConceiveAbilities
If you are a lactating woman, you can join a movement to donate breast milk to babies in need through the #MilkBankChallenge. This challenge has already inspired women to donate approximately 650,000 ounces in 2022, lessening the impact of the infant formula shortage (which is still going on today). You can contribute to the 2023 goal of 1,000,000 ounces, transforming the lives of babies and families. To help, you can donate milk, make a financial donation or share the message on social media.
Children’s Tumor Foundation
Today, your donation goes twice as far to help NF Heroes waiting for effective treatments, researchers on the brink of discovery and young parents holding their newly diagnosed children. Thanks to an anonymous donor, all donations made until midnight will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000, helping speed NF research toward better treatments, more options, and improved lives for every person living with neurofibromatosis, tumors that grow on the nerves of the body.
ArtPride New Jersey
ArtPride successfully advocated for $161.3 million in relief funding for New Jersey’s arts and culture community. Those funds don’t go directly to ArtPride, but they help fuel hundreds of your favorite arts organizations, institutions and education programs throughout the state. You can empower thousands of individuals who create, produce, teach and share the power of the arts year-round.
Rutgers University Foundation
If you want to help children with cancer, mentor emerging business leaders, enhance career prospects for girls, or share your talents and resources in other ways, it’s time to join forces with one or all of these groups.
Intrepid Museum
Inspiring students of all ages, this museum brings to life the experiences of the 50,000 veterans who served on the Intrepid and Growler when they were in service. Help fund the programs that inspire more than one million visitors the Intrepid Museum receives each year.
- Amanda Clark contributed to this story.