THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
Host a drive for the holidays!
The holidays are approaching fast and we’re already getting a lot of requests for donating items or hosting drives to help those in need across metro Atlanta. We’ve laid out a step-by-step guideline and best practices to make your drive a big success.
The holidays are approaching fast and we’re already getting a lot of requests for donating items or hosting drives to help those in need across metro Atlanta. Thank you for thinking of our neighbors and looking for unique and creative ways to help.
Below we’ve laid out a step-by-step guideline and best practices to make your drive a big success.
💥 Decide what kind of impact you want to make.
Think of who and how you want to help your community. For example, maybe you want to collect school supplies to support students returning to school in the fall, or maybe you’d like to support new mothers in need? There are a lot of impact areas where your network of friends, family and colleagues can help with! For a great list, check out the filter on our volunteer portal to find impact areas and organizations working to address them.
🔎 Identify a partner nonprofit to receive the donations.
Do a little research (we have a fantastic list of vetted nonprofit partner organizations you can browse) and find an organization that is working to solve the same community issues you want to make impact in with your drive.
⚙️ Work out the logistics.
Reach out to the partner, and find out if they’re up for receiving donations from your drive. You’ll want to get their specific request list of items, and find out when they need the supplies by. For example – did you know that the best time to deliver school supply donations is in early July? That gives the nonprofit the time to distribute them, before schools starts. Talk to the nonprofit partner about best times and dates for you to deliver, how the supplies should be packaged, and what items should not be avoided.
*NOTE: If you're doing a drive for holiday gifts, be sure not to collect wrapped gifts, unless the organization has requested this. Most organizations prefer for the parents or gift-giver to be able to wrap + give the gift directly to the recipient - and we totally agree with this!
⏳ Choose a timeframe.
Typically, 2 weeks is the ideal timeframe for a supply drive – meaning, the targeted participants have 2 weeks to purchase or find the supplies and deliver them to the collection site. Again, don’t forget to take into account the time when the nonprofit needs the supplies, and the time it’ll take you to inventorize and deliver the supplies – give yourself about a week to do that.
📣 Publicize the drive.
Sharing on social media and within group chats is the easiest and fastest way to spread the word. You can also create flyers with ALL information (supply lists, collection dates + locations, who to email with questions) and get these out to your group via email campaigns, passing them out at existing events like all-staff meetings or placing them in common areas like elevators and cafes. Asking group leadership to introduce the drive to the group can go a long way, too!
🗑️ Place collection bins out.
These should be in common areas, where your group will already be going – hallways and elevator banks are ideal. This also means your participants will walk by them frequently and be reminded.
🚀 Continue promoting!
Continuously remind your participants throughout the drive window, to participate. Remind them of the deadline, any incentives and the meaningful impact they are making!
📊 Take inventory.
After the deadline for donations has passed, count up the supplies and consolidate them into properly sized packaging. Give the nonprofit partner a heads up of the results via email, before delivering them.
🚚 Deliver!
Pack up the car and bring the donations to the nonprofit partner, at the previously arranged date + time!
Bonus tips and suggestions for an extra-awesome drive:
Make it competitive! Have different teams, departments or subgroups have their own collection bins – who’s will be the fullest, the fastest?
Offer incentives for all participants – a social media badge or even a sticker gives your participants a way to feel recognized as well as spread the word to others for you.
Take pictures, post and tag!
9 PROJECTS TO RING IN THE HOLIDAYS
Are you in the giving spirit and looking for a fun and meaningful way to give back this holiday season? With a focus on fighting food insecurity, we’ve got your back with 9 hand selected projects (and a lot more) that are serving the community for the holidays.
Are you in the giving spirit and looking for a fun and meaningful way to give back this holiday season? With a focus on fighting food insecurity, we’ve got your back with 9 hand selected projects (and a lot more) that are serving the community for the holidays.
Community Food Box Build Out
HOPE Atlanta is looking for volunteers on Wednesday, Dec. 8 to help pack food into boxes for an upcoming distribution. You can join their efforts to help Georgians avoid homelessness and hunger. Every year HOPE Atlanta supplies more than 40,000 food boxes to neighbors in need, and they rely on volunteers to make this possible.
Amazing Virtual Info Session for Free99Fridge
Ok, so you’ve heard of Free99Fridge, and now you’re interested in learning more about how you can help them fight food insecurity in Atlanta? Here’s your chance! On Thursday, Dec. 9 anyone in the community wanting to learn more about supporting their Solidarity Fridges (located at Best End Brewing, Refuge Coffee, Hodgepodge Coffeehouse and North Decatur Presbyterian Church) is welcome to attend an Amazing Virtual Info Session. Expect a fun, super informal and COVID-safe way to learn more about getting involved, donating food, navigating Slack and all things Free99Fridge.
Gift Sorting
Antioch Urban Ministries is looking for volunteers Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings through Dec. 16 to sort (not wrap) toys for kids who are in need. You’ll be sorting toys by age and gender and bagging them in preparation for distribution.
Clark Howard's Christmas Kids
For 26 years, Clark Howard has been providing Christmas gifts to foster children in the state of Georgia. St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, along with WSB TV/Talk Radio, the Georgia Department of Human Services, and Walmart, work with Clark to ensure that every child has gifts to open on Christmas morning. They need energetic volunteers to help organize the gifts everyday through Friday, Dec. 17. Volunteers will help load and unload trucks, sort and combine gifts for children, help label gifts by county, and ensure each child receives the correct gifts.
Christmas in Coweta
Christmas in Coweta is a program organized by Bridging the Gap, to provide toys, clothing, and other needed items to children in need. Bridging the Gap is a nonprofit organization based in Coweta County, Georgia that provides food, clothing, and ministry to people who are struggling in their community. They are in need of volunteers for various roles and shifts the week of Dec. 12 and Friday, Dec. 17 to help with their event.
6th Annual Christmas Dinner and Toy Giveaway
For this Holiday season, Area in Need Missionary House is looking for volunteers on Saturday, Dec. 18 to assist them in serving men, women and children that live in 4 of their partner hotels and extended stays in the surrounding areas. Volunteers will setup with the tents, tables and items, serve a spagetti dinner, distribute toiletries, gifts, toys and more!
StreetWise Christmas Event and Mobile Food Pantry
On Saturday, Dec. 18, StreetWise Georgia will serve 300 registered families with a Take Home To Cook Christmas Meal and a new gift to unwrap for every child attending this special event. Volunteers will help sort food, prepare food boxes, load boxes into client vehicles, hand out Christmas gifts and so more!
Helping Hands Holiday Dinner
On Saturday, December 18, 250 disadvantaged children will be able to celebrate the holidays as part of the 33rd Annual Helping Hands Holiday Dinner. Volunteers are needed at the Union City, GA location to help give out pre-bagged toys, free giveaways and to hand out drinks and/or snacks.
Christmas Community Food Box Giveaway
Area in Need is hosting a Christmas Community Food Box Giveaway on Tuesday, Dec. 21 where they will provide anyone in the community free food items. Volunteers will assist in preparing boxes, sorting different food items, handing out information sheets and loading food boxes into clients’ vehicles.
But wait, there’s more…
We’ve got even more ways you can volunteer during the holidays - a lot more, actually. There are close to 500 opportunities to give back on our calendar from now through the end of the year. Don’t wait until 2022 to do something good, get started today!
Hands On Atlanta Holiday Helpers
Tis the season to give back and we’ve made it so easy, it's a holiday miracle! Hands On Atlanta is offering some fun and impactful holiday volunteer activations for our corporate partners at. We hope you and your company join us in impacting our city, celebrating the holidays with your team, and doing something good.
Tis the season to give back and we've made it so easy, it's a holiday miracle! Hands On Atlanta is offering up some fun and impactful holiday volunteer activations for our corporate partners. We hope you and your company join us in making a positive impact on our city, celebrating the holidays with your team in doing something good!
(We promise this will be a bigger hit than a tacky sweater contest.)
Listen to this week’s episode of The Weekly High 5 for a fun conversation about how your company can get involved in service and why it’s a no brainer for the holidays!
Here are some great ideas!
Host an Office Donation Drive
Students need winter coats and clothing, books and snacks leading up to the holidays. We can provide barrels and a list of specific items for your employees to donate, then deliver your donations to one of our partner schools.Partner Up!
Roll up your sleeves and rally a team of up to 40 with a placement at one of our 100+ nonprofit partners.Host a Literacy, Meal or Hygiene Kit Build
Put together kits with up to 100 members of your team! These are fun and fast moving projects to get your company into the holiday spiritStrategic Reading Lesson with Students at a School
Work one on one with students at a selected partner school for a fun and engaging strategic reading lesson for up to 100 members of your teamDream up something good!
Have an awesome idea for a custom corporate volunteer activation? Give us a call! We can dream up a perfect project together.
Sound good and want to know next steps?! Reach out to our Corporate Partnerships Manager, Lara Wagner, to get started.
Email: lwagner@handsonatlanta.org
Phone: 404.979.2838