Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

How to Help the Homeless This Holiday Season

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.

While we become wrapped up in the spirited Christmas songs, White Peppermint Mochas, and Holiday sales; let’s not forget an important aspect of the holiday season: giving.  It’s a hard time right now for many families.  If you are fortunate enough to have some spare change and free time this winter, take some time to help those in need. 

 
So how can you help this holiday season?
 
1) Volunteer at a local homeless or animal shelter.
 
2) Contact local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks to find out what they need most.
 
3) Help wrap gifts that have been donated to a shelter so residents can have the fun of unwrapping a holiday surprise.
 
4) When out buying gifts this holiday season buy some toys that you can donate at a local fire station holiday gift drive.
 
4) Buy non-perishable food items, like canned goods, and deliver them to a food bank or soup kitchen.
 
5) Donate blankets, coats, and other clothes that can help those keep warm this chilly season.
 
6) Tutor homeless children.  Many tutoring programs exist in shelters, schools, and transitional housing programs.
 
7) Order an extra meal when you go out and offer the food to someone hungry who is living on the street.  Or if you see someone living on the street offer to buy them a hot meal.
 
Some places you can help!
http://www.dwcweb.org/
 http://www.thegivingspirit.org/
http://www.standupforkids.org/Los%20Angeles/default.aspx
http://hautedogs.org/santapaws.html

Madeline Hunt is a senior at UCLA majoring in Communication Studies with a minor in Spanish. Originally from the laidback beach-town of Santa Barbara, the California native finds the fast-paced nature and eccentricity of LA extremely exciting. Once more, she decided to expand her horizons when she studied abroad this past fall in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Madeline wants to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and is considering broadcast journalism and public relations as potential options. On campus, she is currently the Public Relations & Marketing Director for the student- run organization Fashion and Student Trends and an intern at E! News. She served as an entertainment reporter on UCLA’s accredited student newspaper, The Daily Bruin, under the video division and is a current member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. During her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, exercising, going to the beach, shopping (online shopping will be the death of her!), reading Glamour and Cosmo, eating Mexican food and sushi, spending time with her friends, practicing her Spanish, and satisfying her weakness for caffeine with Starbuck’s lattes.