While the holidays are a time for receiving presents, it’s also the season to give presents, too.
This year, if you’re thinking about ways to give back, you don’t have to search far and wide, as there are many groups and organizations in town that need local support.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator, a single adult in Tallahassee needs to make $20.89 an hour to support themselves and their household working full-time, or 2,080 hours per year.
Meanwhile, the minimum wage in Florida is $14 an hour.
And with the federal government shutdown pausing SNAP benefits, Tallahassee’s families are struggling more this year.
Whether it’s donating money, food, diapers, or your time, the following organizations need your help to be able to serve our community.
The Oasis Center for Women & Girls
The Oasis Center for Women & Girls is a community resource center for women and girls in Leon County, specializing in helping single mothers and their children.
Not only do they offer counseling services on a sliding scale and girls empowerment programs, but they also provide single moms with a support group with free childcare and dinner every week.
Currently, the center needs toys for children of all ages for their Christmas shop. The more variety, the better, said Kelly Otte, executive director of the center.
“One of the big things that our moms want is gifts to give their kids that they can pick and that they can wrap for their children,” Otte said. “They set everything up on a big table, take the moms and then let them pick out things for children.”
The center also needs gift wrapping paper and tape to send home with the moms, too.
For the mothers at Oasis, the center does the same thing. They let the children pick out a present, gift wrap it and give it to their mothers for Christmas.
Last year, someone donated crocheted shawls, which was a big hit, Otte said.
“They make them feel like they got something nice too, and that somebody sees them,” she added.
Other ideas for donations include perfume, self-care items like bath products, and gift cards, specifically Walmart.
“The current financial situation for moms raising their kids on their own is dire, especially for those on government assistance, because right now everybody is scared,” Otte said. “Any extra money they have they’re not going to spend it.”
The center has an Amazon wishlist, but also donations can be dropped off at 3064 Highland Oaks Terrace.
Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend
Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend provides reliable and affordable childcare for children ages 0-3 in Leon, Madison and Jefferson counties.
There are four locations, with two of them in Leon County, that serve 196 children. Not only do they provide childcare, but they also provide meals, diapers, wipes, clothes and any other necessary items to their families.
Currently, the organization needs diapers and wipes of all sizes, gently-used clothes and winter coats. They also need toys, books and any arts and crafts supplies, like crayons (the large ones so they’re easier to grab), markers, paper, glue, cotton balls, ribbon and washable paint.
They also accepts other baby and toddler essentials like high chairs and car seats.
Anything donated, if it’s something they can’t put in the classroom, they keep for the future in case a family might need it at a later date.
Donations can be dropped off at 306 Laura Lee Ave. Cash donations are also accepted here: https://kidsincorporated.org/give/.
Bond Community Health Center Inc.
The Bond Community Health Center serves everyone who walks into their front doors.
To do that, they need funds to fill the gaps that Medicaid and private insurance can’t cover.
Residents of Leon County that live under 100% of the poverty line, $15,650 per year or $1,304 per month for a single adult, can receive medical services, dental services and behavioral health services at no cost at Bond.
But what about the working poor, asked Dr. Temple O. Robinson, CEO of Bond. Even if a patient has Medicaid or private insurance, for example, the cost to provide dental services far outweighs the reimbursement.
“We have to do a lot of fundraising, a lot of ‘friend raising,’ just for the simple operational needs,” Robinson said. “Our mission is not to turn anyone away, to care for people regardless of their ability to pay. But after a while, you’ve got to figure out a way to stop the bleeding.”
Funds for transportation for patients and for delivering prescriptions are also an immediate need, she said.
“We have a pharmacy here, but if you can’t get here to the pharmacy, we don’t want transportation to be a barrier,” she said. “You’re not just giving to Bond, you’re giving back to the residents of Leon County.”
Bond still makes house calls, too.
“If we can see how a person’s living, where the gaps are whether it’s food, whether it’s an understanding of how the medicine should be stored or how they should take the medicine, whether they have a safe environment to live in, all of these things build a healthier community,” she sad.
To donate, visit https://www.bondchc.com/ and click the donate button at the top right.
Little Sunshine Pantries
Driving across Tallahassee it’s hard to ignore the brightly painted newspaper boxes around Tallahassee. Some of them are near bus stops, others are in front yards or in front of businesses.
Each Little Sunshine Pantry contains food for someone who, while walking home from work or school or just passing by, can access.
When Nathan and Ashley Pugh, founders of Little Sunshine Pantries, first began, they built a food pantry in their front yard in Levy Park, similar to the “little free libraries,” throughout Tallahassee.
“We began stocking it with water, Gatorade and snacks for children that would pass by on their walk to and from school. Very quickly we realized that food insecurity and poverty were much bigger than our pantry could handle,” Nathan told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2023.
Since 2022, the organization has grown and now provides direct access to food and other essentials by regularly stocking 28 pantries in Tallahassee.
The organization is always accepting food, like household pantry stables: snacks, dry goods, grains, pop-top canned fruits and vegetables or meals, like canned soup.
Hygiene products and cleaning supplies are also in demand, Nathan said.
Recently, the organization expanded to providing home delivery of a week’s worth of groceries. Volunteers pick up boxes of pasta, rice, fruit, vegetables, meat and snacks and drop off the boxes to families in need, from Midtown to Woodville to the north side of Tallahassee and everywhere in between.
Prior to the federal government’s pause on SNAP benefits, Little Sunshine Pantries was delivering to about seven to 10 households per week. Now, that’s expanded to 20 households, and the organization is booked out into the beginning of December, Nathan said.
“It’s important to understand that Leon County’s food insecurity rates do not disappear now that the government is open,” he said. “Poverty and food insecurity still persist, and it’s important for us to maintain momentum and support each other so that we can build a more adequate food safety net.”
To donate or volunteer, visit https://littlesunshinepantries.com/support/.
Second Harvest of the Big Bend
With the federal government shutdown and the pause on SNAP benefits, Second Harvest of the Big Bend has been working overtime.
The two-week delay in benefits has put families behind in their bills, and the community still needs support, especially during the holidays, Second Harvest CEO Monique Ellsworth said.
Because of school closures, the children who normally eat free breakfast and lunch at school won’t be able to access those meals.
“We want to increase the work we’re doing to make sure that families have the support that they need during the really great holiday season,” Ellsworth said.
There are three ways to help with food insecurity in Leon County, Ellsworth said.
The first is to go through your pantry and look for nonperishable items you can part with to donate.
The next is to sign up to volunteer. Not just for the holiday season, but for January, February and beyond. There are morning and afternoon shifts, Monday through Friday, and there’s usually a Saturday shift. Individual people, families and groups, like church groups and offices, can all sign up.
Monetary contributions are the most helpful currently, however.
“We’re purchasing food in such a large amount, we’re really able to stretch the dollar when we have the flexibility of donor dollars coming in,” she said.
For every dollar, Second Harvest can purchase four meals. To donate or volunteer, visit: https://fightinghunger.org/.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 5 ways to give back to the Tallahassee community this holiday season
Reporting by Ana Goñi-Lessan, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
