Ways to Volunteer in the South Bay this Holiday Season
Looking for ways to volunteer in the South Bay this Holiday Season? A fun way to make spirits bright this Christmas? Support our local charities and non-profit organizations by making a donation? We’ve put together a very merry South Bay Give Back Guide filled with ideas for volunteering, helping, supporting, donating, and sending glad tidings to our community during what can be a difficult time for many. ’Tis the season for getting your family together to remember what this holiday is really about; giving more than receiving, serving more than expecting, and bringing cheer to those in need. The more the merrier, so round up your bunch and check out our Holiday Give Back ideas!
Also, check out our list of year-round volunteer opportunities and local organizations that accept in-kind donations.
South Bay Mommies & Daddies – JOIN HERE
Buddy Bench Bottle Cap Collection (Kiwanis)
Pay it Forward Buddy Bench Project by The Redondo Beach Kiwanis Club has set the goal of helping schools/groups get 500 benches in 5 years! They are collecting plastic caps and lids and then send them to a company in Indiana that grinds up those caps and lids and makes a buddy bench out of them!
They will be collecting the first Saturday of every month at Alta Vista Park in Redondo Beach
Sandpipers: Holiday Baskets
Each December, Sandpipers, often with their own families, shop for and distribute baskets (more like car-loads!) filled to the brim with household necessities, personal care items, clothing, and toys to “adopted” families in financial need. The participating families are recommended by our agency partners after suffering true and recent economic hardships.
This year, for your shopping convenience, Sandpipers is introducing a new Holiday Baskets-specific AMAZON WISH LIST option, which includes a broad range of items from essential to non-essential for our Holiday Baskets program. We encourage you to share the list with family and friends so we can inspire others to join in the spirit of giving this holiday.
Sandpipers: Sugarplum
Holiday Wishes Granted to 1,500 Children in the L.A. Foster Care System with the help of Sugarplum toy drive. Every holiday season Sandpipers works with DCFS to provide toys for boys and girls in need. Each toy donation is $25 or less and this year they have a goal of providing 1500 toys.
Participate by clicking on their holiday wish list which will include gift options for you to choose from to help support a child in need. We encourage you to share this list with family and friends so we can provide the 1500 gifts needed for this year.
Sandpipers Annual Holiday Homes Tour
For 27 years, the Sandpipers Annual Holiday Homes Tour has showcased distinctive South Bay homes beautifully decorated for the holiday season by local designers, retailers, and florists.
The Holiday Marketplace brings together an imaginative group of local, artisanal vendors offering unique home decor, fine jewelry, tasty treats and other great gift ideas.
For years the local community has made this an inspiring day of shopping and holiday spirit with friends, in beautiful South Bay surroundings.
For tickets, email info@southbaymommiesanddaddies.com
More info here: Sandpipers Annual Holiday Homes Tour
Sacks on the Beach: 1736 Family Crisis Center Project
Will be supporting 1736 Family Crisis Center who offers exceptional service in support of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault & human trafficking. They are collecting grocery store gift cards to provide meals for families in need. Drop off gift cards at either Sacks location – donation receipts will be provided.
Learn more here
Mychal’s Learning Place Coat & Canned Food Drive
Mychal’s Learning Place is partnering with a variety of community organizations to support local families with at least one family member with a disability.
Drop off canned food, non perishable items and grooming supplies at our Hawthorne location until November 13th! We also have a amazon wishlist linked in our bio that you can order from to have items delivered if that is an easier option for you ✨
We believe it’s important to give back to our community and hope you will join us in doing so this month!
Operation Teddy Bear Toothbrush Drive, The Volunteer Center South Bay
‘Tis the season for smiles! From now through the end of the year, The Volunteer Center is hosting the Operation Teddy Bear Toothbrush Drive!
We need 2,500 new individually packaged child-sized toothbrushes and 2,500 individually wrapped or boxed toothpaste tubes to give to first-grade students as part of our annual Operation Teddy Bear program.
Drop off donations at 1230 Cravens Ave. in Torrance Monday- Friday 9:30 – 3:30 p.m. or small quantities through the mail slot after hours.
Toberman Neighborhood Center, Zoom with Santa Toy Drive
You can help families have a joyful holiday by donating toys or hosting a toy drive. Please drop off donations at Toberman Neighborhood Center Monday-Friday between 9am-6pm or use our Amazon Wishlist for easy and safe delivery.
Barry’s Project: Supporting the homeless in our community
There are three main ways to support this project:
Option 1 – Get involved by either making a donation here or working with your kids to make handwritten cards to include in the bags. This tutorial give some feedback on making the cards – www.thegivingspirit.org/friendshipcards
Option 2 – Join us to hand out bags to the homeless in San Pedro on the weekend of Dec. 12/13
Option 3 – If we get enough donations, we can put together even more bags than we need for San Pedro. Then people that are interested could come to our house to pick up 2 – 3 bags to deliver to homeless folks in their own neighborhood. This way, people could take care of the homeless folks nearest to where they live and we would get bags out to many more people.
Since this is a new idea, I haven’t worked out all the details. However, I think we would probably just set up a table in our front yard one afternoon and then people could pick up a couple bags to take back to their neighborhood.
Love in the Mirror
Love in the Mirror is partnering with Gay For Good to bring toys to local children in need. Due to the pandemic, we are anticipating a record amount of families this year and need your help in collecting donations. Toy donations must be new and unwrapped and for ages 2-13. Donate now through December 10th. We are also accepting diaper donations. A list of drop-off locations will be published soon.
If you are interested in assisting with the donation collection or to host a drop-off location, please connect us by email at info@loveinthemirror.org.
You can donate online: https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2056499
or use our preferred method of donating by purchasing directly from our
Amazon Holiday Wish List:
https://tinyurl.com/y536366r
(These items will be shipped directly to us)
All donations will be distributed at Love in the Mirror’s annual toy giveaway in December.
Love in the Mirror cultivates youth-led, service-focused initiatives to create a positive impact in the world through meaningful programs for all members of the community. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Learn more at: www.loveinthemirror.org
and www.gayforgood.org
Rainbow Services
RAINBOW SERVICES provides shelter and supportive services to victims of domestic violence and their children in the Harbor and South Bay areas of Los Angeles County. We are accepting new, unwrapped gifts for children and teens in our shelter. Gift cards are also appreciated. Visit rainbowservicesdv.org for more on what we do.
https://rainbowservicesdv.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Holiday-Gift-Drive-Flyer.pdf
Richstone Family Center Adopt a Family
It’s that time of year again! As we prepare for the fast approaching holiday season, we’d like to extend an invitation to you to participate in our Adopt a Family program once again. The purpose of Richstone’s Adopt a Family program is to support families undergoing economic and emotional hardships during the holiday season through providing Thanksgiving meals, household essentials, and holiday gifts.
More info on adopting a family
https://www.richstonefamily.org/makeacontribution
Looking for more ways to volunteer this holiday season? Check out our article, South Bay Organizations with Volunteer Opportunities.
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