Think creatively and do all you can to soften the blow for a family that's fallen on hard times.
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1How To Volunteer For a Good Cause
1:42 -
2How to Volunteer in a Foreign Country
1:57 -
3How to Volunteer in Disaster Areas
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4How to Give to Others
2:12 -
5How to Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
1:28 -
6How to Become a Volunteer to Help Find Missing Children
2:10 -
7How to Ask for Donations to Your Charity
2:20 -
8How to Organize a Toy Drive
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9How to Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen
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10How to Organize a Food Drive
1:39 -
11How to Organize a Phone Bank
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12How to Help Reduce Poverty
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Now Playing
13How to Help a Family in Need at Christmas
1:46 -
14How to Donate Your Car to Charity
2:21 -
15How to Find Volunteer Opportunities in Your Area
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16How To Organize a Charity Walk or Run
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17How To Have a Silent Auction
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18How To Really Help Feed the Hungry
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19How To Donate Bone Marrow
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20How To Register To Donate Bone Marrow
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21Compartir Es Vivir
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22How To Create the Good
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23How To Help Feed a Family in Need
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24How To Help Your Community Prepare For an Emergency
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25How To Help Your Friends and Neighbors Save Money on Energy
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26How To Improve Walking Routes in Your Community
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27How To Mentor a Military Veteran and Their Family
2:38 -
28How To Organize a River Cleanup
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29How To Start a Women's Giving Circle
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You Will Need
- Money
- Cooking skills
- Transportation
- Time
- Living accommodations
- Resources
- Creativity
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Step 1
Arrange to cover food
Arrange to shop and pay for groceries for a family in need at Christmas. Bring over dinner to help out.
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Step 2
Volunteer transportation
Volunteer to supply basic transportation needs. Pitch in by walking their kids to and from school. Or tutor, counsel, or entertain them to give the parents time to sort things out.
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Step 3
Give cash or employment
Give cash or offer to lend them money to pay bills, if you have the means, especially if it will help them keep their car or hold on to their home.
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Tip
Co-sign for a loan, but carefully consider the legal and financial implications.
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Step 4
Offer to take them in
Offer to take in, feed, and protect kids for a while if you can afford it and the rest of your household agrees. During Christmas, try to find room for the whole family for a couple of weeks so they can stay together.
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Step 5
Provide services
Provide services -- do their laundry, cut their lawn, or shovel their snow, repair things, or give haircuts to ease the burden.
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Step 6
Guide them to professional help
Guide them to employment agencies, debt counselors, welfare services, or short-term lenders.
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Step 7
Find shelters
Help them find homeless shelters for housing or financial support in the short term. Be creative and make it a merry Christmas for everyone.
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Fact
The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2008 that the poverty rate had risen to over 13 percent, an increase of 2.5 million people since the year before.
