Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!! As always, I have the pleasure of coming to you on all the major holidays, it seems. This always gets me thinking about what I find most important when it comes to Fresno. One of them is our amazing network of nonprofits organizations.
There’s a lot of consumer-driven themes associated with Thanksgiving these days. Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. And as your resident shopping addict, I’m generally a proponent of all of that. But someone recently reminded me of another day that got me really excited: #GivingTuesday! According to givingtuesday.org, the day kicks off the charitable season and is a movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy.
Coincidentally, there are many Valley organizations seeking extra support and donations this time of year. While I think it is always important to give to the causes that mean the most to you personally, I’ve taken the liberty of compiling a list of some of the groups FresYes has highlighted this year and what kinds of donations they need.
Art of Life Cancer Foundation
My friend Nancy at the Art of Life Cancer Foundation was the one who reminded me of Giving Tuesday. Art of Life helps cancer survivors through art therapy groups. They also recently broke ground on a Healing Garden at Woodward Park. They are hosting a fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday here. You can also find out more about how to help them in my blog from a few weeks ago.
The Sweet Eats Program
This is one of a couple of programs I’ll highlight that involve Valley Children’s Hospital. The Sweet Eats Program was established by the parents of Hendrix Wille in the memory of their son after he lost his battle with cancer. The organization exists primarily to meet some practical needs for families as they are in the hospital with their children.
This year, Sweet Eats (in partnership with Sweet Nectar Society) is preparing for a Christmas Eve tamale dinner for every family with an inpatient child at Valley Children’s. Each family will receive a tote bag filled with tamales, beans, rice, chips, salsa, cookies and drinks. Organizers would also like to include a gift for each child if they can.
In order to accomplish this big holiday task, Sweet Eats will need monetary donations, as well as gift cards for gas, Sam’s Club, Costco, Walmart and Target. Volunteers are also welcome. You can find out more about Sweet Eats and contact them about donations here.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central California
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central California is another great local organization that supports families with sick kids at Valley Children’s. In this case, they give families a place to live across the parking lot from the hospital. Because of that, they are in need of a lot of food and household goods. Examples include food like coffee, granola bars, cereal and trail mix; bath items like shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, wash cloths and bath towels; and cleaning supplies like laundry soap, dishwashing liquid, Windex and Swiffer pads. A full wish list can be found here. And you can always sign up with your family or a group of friends to cook a meal for house residents.
Valley Animal Center and Westside Rescue
I won’t forget our animal friends out there! I recent months, I’ve highlighted a couple of great local pet rescue organizations. Valley Animal Center is the largest no-kill shelter in Fresno. As such, their wish list includes a lot of items to keep their place running, including laundry detergent, garbage bags, bleach, litter pans and pet toys. A full list can be found here.
Westside Rescue operates a little differently. They provide support and medical services for pets living on the streets with homeless owners. Westside’s wish list has more day-to-day items, such as pillows, blanket, flashlights and snacks for the humans, and dog food, treats, leashes and collars for the animals. Their full list can be found here.
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Finally, here’s a surprising one. Until recently, I didn’t even know that the Fresno Chaffee Zoo took anything other than monetary donations. But it turns out they need a wide range of items to provide enrichment opportunities for their animals. They are currently asking for blankets and towels for their orangutans to keep warm and play with. And on Amazon, the zoo keeps a great collection of different wish lists for you to buy directly from. They need everything from essential oils for animals to investigate to paints for the elephants to use!
These are just a few ideas if you’d like to participate in Giving Tuesday. It doesn’t have to be Tuesday, and it doesn’t have to be the organizations I’ve mentioned, but I encourage you to always give what you can when you can! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at FresYes!
- Fresno Grizzlies Unveil New Valley-Centric Uniforms and Logos - January 31, 2019
- Date with your Pup? Fresyes, Please! - December 10, 2018
- AR Workshop takes wine and painting to the next level - October 10, 2018
Leave a Reply