How to Get Kids Involved with Holiday Giving

I know at the holidays a lot of kids are excited about what they’re going to GET, but how about helping them get excited about what they’re going to GIVE? The East Bay is not only a wonderful place to live, it’s also a supportive community with lots of opportunities to assist our neighbors around us. Read on for a few ways to inspire the kiddos in your life to help spread some holiday cheer this season.

Ruby’s Place

Located in Castro Valley, Ruby’s Place has a simple mission: Ruby’s Place is an innovative nonprofit committed to ending domestic violence, human trafficking, and violent crime through hope, advocacy, and connection.

Plan a family shopping day and get your kids involved as they help pick a family and select the items to give! Brighten the lives of the families we serve as we kick off our annual Adopt a Family program by fulfilling their holiday wishlist! You can bring lots of joy this holiday season and remind the families that they are not alone. Adopting a family means you will be paired with an applicant family and agree to purchase gifts for children, parents, and household items.

Family Giving Tree

Founded in 1991 by two San Jose State MBA students this nonprofit organization envisions a world where giving brings joy, offers hope, and creates learning possibilities. Now over 30 years later this organization is the largest gift and backpack donation program in California.

Bring joy this holiday season with their grant a wish program. To fulfill the wish of a child, adult, or senior in need may not seem like much, but it's everything for someone who may not otherwise receive a gift. That single, specially chosen gift lets them know that someone in the community cares.

Creek Kids Care - Angel Project

Located in Walnut Creek, the Trinity Center is a non-residential program serving homeless and working poor adult men and women in Walnut Creek and Central Contra Costa County.

Each holiday season the Creek Kids Care program sponsors the annual Angel Project, during which a family/individual/group gets a wish list from a homeless community member and purchases gifts for this person.

Alameda County Food Bank

There are several ways to support the Alameda County Food Bank and the need is the greatest at holiday season! Whether it’s helping sort food at the food bank or coordinating a food drive with your friends, family and neighbors. This is a great way to ease kids into the season of giving and gratitude

Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay

Every December, JFCS East Bay’s Holiday Giving Program collects gift cards donated by our community and provides them to refugee and low-income families throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Gift cards empower recipients to purchase the gifts or necessities they know they need, and can choose for their children.

Here are examples of the East Bay families and individuals served through this program:

Newcomer refugee families from Afghanistan, now arriving in numbers never before seen.
Immigrants and asylum seekers from Central America.
Families and people of color with young children, who already face inequities and are now being directly impacted by these tough economic times.
LGBTQ refugees and asylees, many from Africa and Latin America, who fled their countries because of persecution.

Hively Diaper Pantry

Obviously we are big fans of Hively and all they do for our local families here in Alameda County. For many of these families not having diapers affects their ability to get their children into daycare and in turn affects their ability to get to work. Get your kiddos involved by hosting a cookie decorating party and ask guests to bring an unopened package of diapers to donate to Hively’s Diaper Pantry!

The Hively Diaper Pantry provides low-income families with a one-month supply of diapers and diaper wipes. In addition, each family goes home with a children’s book and educational materials to support not only healthy bee-hinds, but healthy minds, too.