It’s the season of giving, and it’s a great time of year to teach kids about helping others! Whether you want to volunteer, make donations to families in need, or make sure the community has enough to eat, here are some options around the Austin area for donating.
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Operation Turkey: Thanksgiving
Help feed the community on Thanksgiving Day. There are opportunities to volunteer for the whole family, including setup, preparing food, decorating boxes and delivering meals. You can also help leading up to Thanksgiving Day to help the project go off without a hitch.
Deck the Diapers Holiday Event: Dec. 2, 3, and 4
Must be 13 or older to volunteer. Get into the holiday spirit with Austin Diaper Bank at Deck the Diapers! This holiday event brings essential supplies to Central Texas families. Buy a ticket for $30, and help wrap and prepare diapers for little ones facing diaper insecurity while enjoying holiday snacks and a goodie bag.
Giving Machine: Nov. 18-Dec.7
Buy an “item” from a vending machine to support one of 7 charities (local all the way up to international charities). You can donate money for things like a bed for a foster child, hygiene products for local seniors, pediatric heart surgery and more. Located inside The Crossover in Cedar Park.
Foundation Communities Home for the Holidays: Sign up as a sponsor by Dec. 5
Sponsor a family for Christmas through Foundation Communities. Families that live in Foundation Communities’ affordable housing communities can sign up to receive necessities and holiday presents from sponsors. Choose from different housing communities and families, then buy gifts to make their Christmas morning a great one.
SAFE Holidays Program: Nov. 15-Dec. 12
SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) support survivors of violence and abuse. This holiday season, there are several ways you can also lend your support. You can sponsor a family or individual, or donate trees, gift wrap and more.
Carter Couch Toy Drive: Dec. 13
The 4th annual Carter Couch Toy Drive is taking place Dec. 13 at 1 pm at Bouldin Acres South Lamar. Bring a new unwrapped toy to benefit participants of RBI Austin, and meet UT athletes and coaches, from baseball, football, volleyball and more. Feel free to bring your own memorabilia for autographs!
You can also drop off your donations at Meanwhile Brewing from Nov. 29 to Dec. 14.
BookPeople’s Giving Tree: Nov. 28-Dec. 31
The BookPeople community can either purchase books or make a monetary donation in support of Book Drive for Kids. 100% of the books and donated money goes directly to the charity. This organization runs free book fairs in Title 1 schools to give every child the chance to own their own books. Books donated through Giving Tree will be used for book fairs, and monetary donations will be used to purchase more books for the students. You can learn more about the charity here.
Blue Santa and Brown Santa Toy Donations
Blue Santa and Brown Santa are toy drives hosted by local police and sheriff’s departments. They serve families in our communities to make sure kids get toys, stuffed animals and books for the holidays.
- Blue Santa Austin
- Blue Santa Georgetown
- Blue Santa Pflugerville
- Blue Santa Cedar Park
- Round Rock Operation Blue Santa
- Blue Santa Leander
- Blue Santa San Marcos
- Blue Santa Kyle
- Blue Santa Buda
- Brown Santa TC
- Brown Santa Wilco
- Hays County Brown Santa
ATX Free Fridge: All year
Give directly to the community by donating food to one of the ATX Free Fridge locations around town. You can leave packaged meals (including homemade), shelf-stable items, pet supplies, fruit and more.
No frozen food or raw meat. Please label all items with allergens and the date.
Looking for more holly jolly? Check out these holiday events, spots to ice skate, where to see Santa and free events around town.