Even with Hanukkah already behind us, and Christmas and New Year’s still glittering on the horizon, it’s been hard to get into the holiday spirit this year. I normally count myself among the most deranged of deranged holiday people, but it feels like the news both in the U.S. and around the world keeps getting grimmer. How are we supposed to forget all that and party blithely on?
Luckily, there’s one way to celebrate the holidays that’s all but guaranteed to have a positive impact—and that’s by donating money to organizations you care about. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to give, if you find yourself with more time or material resources on hand than money. But if you want to skip the last-minute trip to Target for ugly Christmas sweaters this year and instead allocate your funds to humanitarian causes, we’ve rounded up some great ones below:
The news out of Gaza and Israel is consistently painful, with thousands of children killed within weeks of Hamas’s October 7 attack. It can be difficult to know how best to help from afar, but Doctors Without Borders is an independent and impartial humanitarian organization working to provide civilians trapped in Gaza and other war-torn regions with potentially lifesaving medical care. You can donate to help their mission here.
25.8 million people are estimated to need life-saving food assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is currently facing one of the world’s largest hunger crises. The United Nations-run World Food Programme is working to assist food-insecure people in the region; donations can be made here.
The IRC has been working to help families in Ukraine since the escalation of the country’s conflict with Russia in 2022, providing necessary items including protection services, health equipment, mobile health clinics, and other forms of basic necessities to Ukrainians displaced or otherwise affected by the war. You can donate here to assist with their work.
Texas just keeps becoming less and less safe for people seeking abortions, as evidenced by the recent case of Dallas resident Kate Cox. As such, countless Texans now depend on the services of nonprofit organizations like the Lilith Fund, which provides direct financial and emotional support to those seeking abortion care in and out of the state. As the donations that trickled in after the fall of Roe last year begin to thin out, donate here to help the Lilith Fund provide assistance with urgently necessary reproductive care.
The holidays can be a difficult time for LGBTQ+ individuals and trans youth in particular, who have been relentlessly targeted in U.S. politics over the last several years. This organization allows donors to fulfill the holiday wish lists of trans youth who are unhoused, in foster care, or otherwise lacking the support they need to thrive. You can donate here to be part of their project.