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Donate Winter Coats to Community Members in Need
Donate to the Camp Friendship Holiday Toy Drive
Volunteer at the The People's Winter Market
Donate Toys and Winter Gear to Community Members in Need
Donate a Coat to the New York Cares Coat Drive
Purchase a Gift for Homeless Children and Families in Kensington
Purchase a Gift for Homeless Children Through the Women in Need Gift Drive
Purchase a Gift for Kids Impacted by Homelessness
Support Latinx Families in Sunset Park with Mixteca
Donate Time or Supplies to the Camp Friendship Food Pantry
Donate to or Volunteer with the Grocery Support Program
Thank Healthcare Heroes with a Free Bike Tune-Up
Shop Small Local with a Digital Park Slope Gift Card
Support our Local Businesses and Cultural Institutions with a Gift Membership
Help Set a Guinness World Record with Kids for Peace
Support Your Neighbors Through a Local Mutual Aid Group
Find Family Volunteer Opportunities Through Doing Good Together
Past Opportunities: How Have We Helped this Year?
Donate Winter Coats to Community Members in Need
When: December 11, 6:30–9 pm; December 12, 9–3 pm; December 18, 6:30–9 pm; and December 19, 9–11 am
Who: Camp Friendship Brooklyn, providing NYC youth with the tools, confidence and support to become healthy, successful and responsible citizens.
What: Camp Friendship is collecting winter coats for our community.
How: Drop off at the Camp Friendship club house at 339 8th Street during the times listed above.
In addition, Liliana Hetherman will be driving around the neighborhood on Monday, December 14th, between 11 am and 1 pm to pick up coats. All you need to do is leave them outside of your front door in a bag (clean please). If you'd like to donate (or have any questions at all), text Liliana at 347-466-2762 with your name and address to schedule a pick-up.
Donate to the Camp Friendship Holiday Toy Drive
When: Drop-off on December 19, 9:30 am–2 pm, or donate anytime.
Who: Camp Friendship Brooklyn, providing NYC youth with the tools, confidence and support to become healthy, successful and responsible citizens.
What: Camp Friendship is bringing some joy into the lives of the families who stand on their lines by having a toy giveaway around Christmas.
How: Bring new unwrapped toys to the drop-off location (Camp Friendship clubhouse, 339 8th Street btw 5th & 6th Aves). or food pantry donation tables. Toys for ages 5–12 are the most needed. No toy guns or weapons please! If you can't drop off, you can also donate directly to support the toy drive.
Volunteer at the The People's Winter Market
When: December 19–23
Who: South Brooklyn Mutual Aid, pairing volunteers with neighbors who need help.
What: The People's Winter Market is a free community store. There will be toys for parents to pick for their children for the holidays and a gift wrapping station. There will also be an area with warm clothes like jackets, hats, sweaters, and more.
How: Learn more and sign up to volunteer here.
Donate Toys and Winter Gear to Community Members in Need
When: Until December 22
Who: Assemblymember Robert Carroll in partnership with CHiPS and CAMBA, a nonprofit organization that provides social services to New Yorkers in need.
What: Collecting donations of new toys and new winter outwear for children, women and men in our community.
How: Please bring donations to Assemblymember Carroll’s District Office at 416 7th Avenue, weekdays from 9:30 to 4:30 from now until Tuesday, December 22. A staff member will meet you at the door.
**Due to Covid-19 all toys and clothing must be NEW**
Children ages 0-18 - toys and winter outerwear
Women - winter outerwear of gloves, hats, scarfs and socks
Men - hooded sweatshirts in dark colors in all sizes, but small and medium are needed most
For more information or any questions about this or any constituent issue, please call the District Office at 718-788-7221 or email CarrollR[at]nyassembly.gov.
When: Anytime before the holidays
What: The Angel Card Project is an internet-wide charity event designed to send greeting cards to those in need. In 2019, they saw their biggest year ever, with 3,952 volunteers sending over 71,000 Christmas cards . This year, you can volunteer to send cards and make 2020 an even bigger success!
How: Anyone may volunteer to send cards. Each volunteer is responsible for their own cards and postage and will be responsible for making sure all cards are received by the post office. There is no limit on the number of cards required to send. Learn more and sign up to mail out cards here.
Donate a Coat to the New York Cares Coat Drive
When: Anytime
Who: New York Cares, the largest volunteer network in NYC, offering thousands of volunteer opportunities with nonprofits and schools in all five boroughs.
What: Community partners throughout Brooklyn and New York are in need of coats for men, women, children, and infants.
How: Use the drop-off map to find partners near you accepting donations, the kinds of coats they need, contact information, and drop-off times.
Purchase a Gift for Homeless Children and Families in Kensington
When: Anytime
Who: The Kensington Family Shelter, offering families a supportive, structured therapeutic, safe, and drug-free facility
What: With two curated wish lists for kids and adults, you can select as many gifts as you'd like to donate to shelter residents.
How: View the kids' wish list here and the adults' wish list here.
We know that many people want to support struggling local businesses this year, so if you would like to purchase an item from the list at another business and drop off or ship to the shelter, feel free! Please just mark the item as purchased on the list so they don’t get doubles.
If you are able to select the gift wrap option when ordering, that would be amazing. Otherwise, shelter staff will be putting anything unwrapped in gift bags (which are also on the wish list, along with batteries, if you don't feel like browsing hundreds of toys!)
Shelter address: The Kensington Gift Drive / Attn: Uniquia / 385 McDonald Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11218
Purchase a Gift for Homeless Children Through the Women in Need Gift Drive
When: Anytime
Who: Women in Need (WIN), the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for New York City's homeless families, especially women and children.
What: The NEW Shirley Chisholm Family Shelter has opened on 4th Ave and 14th Street in South Slope. They’ll soon be opening the Rosa Parks housing. They are trying to get ahead of the game with the holidays coming, so they’ve asked us to share this link to their gift registry. The gifts start at $25 and go up from there, covering babies, toddlers, and more. You can also buy a gift card (same link).
How: Head here for links to WIN's gift registries. If you would like to donate a gift card, please set the value for $25 and select "email delivery" so the card is sent via email to the address on the registry (i.e. Win - Shirley Chisholm & Target's charity registry).
Purchase a Gift for Kids Impacted by Homelessness
When: Anytime
Who: Lantern Community Services, championing the independence and well-being of New Yorkers who are impacted by or threatened with homelessness.
What: Lantern Community Services champions the independence and well-being of New Yorkers who are impacted by or threatened with homelessness. The families they serve struggle on very low incomes, and many of their youth don’t have families to turn to at all. This means that their teenagers and young adults often go without a gift at the holidays. We want this year to be different. With your help, Lantern will make sure that every single one of them receives a gift.
How: View the wish list here. If you’d like to donate money instead of going through Amazon, you can do that here. Go here to get a tax-deductible form.
Support Latinx Families in Sunset Park with Mixteca
When: Anytime or at Mixteca's weekly Saturday food pantry, located at 245 23rd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Who: Mixteca, empowering the Mexican and Latin-American immigrants of the New York area by providing them access to services that enhance their quality of life and will allow them to reach sustainable social and economic development.
What: Make a donation for the COVID Emergency Relief Fund or volunteer at the weekly food pantry for families.
How: Go here to donate and here to volunteer.
Donate Time or Supplies to the Camp Friendship Food Pantry
When: Anytime
Who: Camp Friendship Brooklyn, providing NYC youth with the tools, confidence and support to become healthy, successful and responsible citizens.
What: Every week approx. 50-60 volunteers, a very diverse and multigenerational group of adults and seniors, high school/college kids, local moms and dads wear their masks, organize inventory, make deliveries using their own vehicles, stuff produce and pantry bags and staff donation tables around the neighborhood. Many other volunteers help out from home with graphic design, social media, volunteer recruitment, filling out applications and putting up flyers, etc.
How: Learn more about the various volunteer opportunities here and fill out a volunteer interest form here.
If you're able, consider making a financial contribution. Camp Friendship spends approximately $1000 a week on purchasing fresh produce.
The pantry also accepts donations of non-perishable food at the Camp Friendship club house, which is located at 339 8th Street (corner of 6th Avenue). Donations can be dropped off on Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm.
Donate to or Volunteer with the Grocery Support Program
When: Anytime
Who: Greater Prospect Heights Mutual Aid, a network of neighbors assisting those in need
What: The GPHMA Grocery Support Program is an initiative helping financially constrained neighbors acquire food and other basic household items throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic upheaval.
How: Learn more, donate, and sign up to volunteer here.
Thank Healthcare Heroes with a Free Bike Tune-Up
When: Anytime
Who: This is a crowdfunded effort!
What: With a second wave on its way, help a first responder get to work safely on their bike! For $25, you can pay to tune up one healthcare worker's bike (including parts and service) at the NewYork Presbyterian - Methodist Hospital in Park Slope.
How: Learn more and donate here.
When: Anytime
Who: CHiPS, feeding the hungry in their soup kitchen and sheltering homeless pregnant women and their infants.
What: CHiPS has arranged to hand out hundreds of takeaway Thanksgiving meals on Thursday, November 26th. While they're no longer in need of help for the Thanksgiving holiday, you can support their ongoing week to feed and shelter those in need by donating or signing up for future volunteer opportunities.
How: Learn more about donation and volunteering options here.
Shop Small Local with a Digital Park Slope Gift Card
When: Anytime
Who: Park Slope 5th Avenue Business Improvement District
What: Send a Digital Park Slope Gift Card and support small local! The #theother5th Park Slope Gift Card can be used in many of your favorite local stores, restaurants and services.
How: Learn more and purchase a gift card here.
Support our Local Businesses and Cultural Institutions with a Gift Membership
When: Anytime
Who: Dozens of restaurants, businesses, and institutions in our local area
What: Purchase a membership to a local institution for a loved one or for yourself. Buy gift certificates and order in from your favorite local restaurants to give them a BOOST, as cold weather will impact sales.
How: Here are links to just a few of our amazing local cultural institutions:
Help Set a Guinness World Record with Kids for Peace
When: By January 5, 2021
Who: Kids for Peace, empowering and mobilizing youth to create peace through hands-on service, global friendships and thoughtful acts of kindness.
What: Kids for Peace will set a new Guinness World Record by creating a 110+ mile inspirational paper-chain. They will collect 1.5 million links of recycled/reused paper each with a message of love & hope for the world. Once “social-distancing” is lifted and it is again safe to gather in groups, they will assemble the Linked By Love paper-chain. After the chain is officially measured for the Guinness World Record, they will distribute sections to hospitals, senior centers, libraries and more as a beautiful reminder that we are all Linked By Love!
How: Everyone in the entire world is invited to create links for the global Linked By Love paper-chain! Links for the paper-chain must be postmarked to Kids for Peace HQ by January 5, 2021. Get details on how to create your chain link here.
Support Your Neighbors Through a Local Mutual Aid Group
- Bushwick Mutual Aid
- Clinton Hill/Fort Greene Mutual Aid
- Crown Heights Mutual Aid
- East New York Mutual Aid
- Flatbush Mutual Aid
- Flatbush United Mutual Aid (includes Flatbush/Prospect Park South/Ditmas Park/Prospect Lefferts Gardens/East Flatbush/Wingate)
- Greater Prospect Heights Mutual Aid
- Kensington/Windsor Terrace Mutual Aid
- North Brooklyn Mutual Aid
- South Brooklyn Mutual Aid
When: Anytime
Who: Brooklyn Book Bodega, aiming to increase the number of 100+ book homes for kids 0-18 in NYC.
What: Donate your new and gently used children’s book at one of Brooklyn Book Bodega’s book donation locations in Brooklyn. They accept gently used and new books for ages 0–18, including foreign language, dual language, and nonfiction books.
How: Drop off at the following locations.
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD: ANYTIME DURING THEIR OPEN LOBBY HOURS
Building 77, 141 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (bin located next to security desk in Building 77)
826NYC: ANYTIME DURING THEIR OPEN STORE HOURS
372 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Read through full details before donating.
Find Family Volunteer Opportunities Through Doing Good Together
When: Anytime
Who: Doing Good Together, a Minnesota-based national nonprofit that works to make volunteering and service, along with daily kindness, easy for every family.
What: Each month, DGT™ does the research to find family-friendly volunteer opportunities in cities across the U.S., including New York, New York, as well as providing a range of other opportunities to get involved locally and nationally.
How: Go here to learn about NYC volunteer opportunities, and explore DGT's website for more ways to get involved.
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Past Opportunities: How Have We Helped this Year?
Purchase a Gift for Children in Need through the Center for Family Life
When: By December 8
Who: The Center for Family Life, a neighborhood-based family and social services organization serving the Sunset Park community.
What: The Center hopes to be able to provide a gift to the 85 children in their foster care and family counseling programs who they have determined to be in the greatest need. Contribute by purchasing a holiday gift on Amazon!
How: Visit the Amazon wish list to purchase a gift. In order to make sure that gifts reach the families in time, please note that the deadline to order gifts is Tuesday, December 8.
If you have any questions, email or call Jennifer Wittlin at jwittlin[at]sco.org or 718-438-9500.
Donate a Gift to the Old Stone House and 5th Avenue BID Toy Drive
When: Drop off gifts to the OSH by December 13
Who: The Old Stone House and the Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District
What: The OSH and BID are hosting a toy drive for the Brownsville Recreation Center, which provides children, adults, and seniors with a fitness center and recreational activities; access to a computer resource center, and a free after-school program.
How: Bring a new, wrapped gift appropriate for kids ages 5–9. Please mark each package with "B" for boy, "G" for girl, or "X" for gender neutral. Drop off the toys at OSH during their Open Hours on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays from Noon–3 pm before December 13.
Purchase a Gift for an NYC Public School Student
When: Deliver or drop off to Sugarplum Sled headquarters by December 15
Who: The Sled, assisting underprivileged NYC Public School students and their families.
What: The Sled has compiled a registry of items requested by kids who could not otherwise receive a gift this season. You can finance as many gifts as you would like to be delivered to families in classrooms and housing units throughout the five boroughs.
How: Check out the 2020 Sugarplum Sled List here.
