Chicagoist's 2013 Charitable Gift Guide

By Staff in News on Dec 17, 2013 10:10PM

Last week we published our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide. Today we list eight charitable organizations to give back to during the holidays and in the coming year.

Chicago Women's Health Center
While women in Chicago have more access to health care than other places in the country, it's still worthwhile to consider helping out with a donation close to home. The Chicago Women's Health Center, based in Lakeview, offers sliding scale payment options and "affordable, compassionate, and collaborative gynecological and mental health care to women and trans people in the Chicago area." —Jennifer A. Freeman

Donate to Chicago Women's Health Center here.

Children's Home + Aid
I’m a big believer that early childhood development can set the foundation for your whole life, so supporting organizations that strive to make a positive impact on children’s lives is an important cause to me. There are numerous organizations that work with children, but one near and dear to my heart is Children’s Home + Aid. At a previous job I volunteered with their organization, helping to distribute new school supplies and helping procure presents for kids and families who were struggling to afford a happy holidays. Every person I worked with in the organization cared so much about helping kids. It wasn’t just a job, as I saw when one Children’s Home + Aid employee took the time to drive me on Christmas Eve to a surprise a kid with a belated Christmas gift. She worked with the child and knew how happy it would make him, so she didn’t mind leaving her own family at home while helping me out. Every person I’ve encountered at Children’s Home + Aid goes above and beyond to help bring a positive aspect to each child’s life they interact with. They offer a variety of services for children and families (I only volunteered with one part of the company), and I highly recommend not only sending them a donation but also signing up to volunteer. Whether it takes a village or not, Children’s Home + Aid help make the lives of children in Illinois a little better each day. —Lisa White

Donate to Children't Home + Aid here.

Adoption Center of Illinois At Family Resource Center
The Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center is a not-for-profit agency that has been placing children with families since 1989. Located in Andersonville, the agency provides counseling services for birth parents looking to place newborn or older children into adoption, as well as guiding parents hoping to adopt children through the process. Programs include both open and closed adoptions for local and foreign children. —Casey Moffitt

Donate to Adoption Center of Illinois here.

Lakeview Food Pantry
Nearly 10 percent of Lakeview’s total population is food insecure. In addition to distributing food six days a week, the Pantry also acts as a facilitator to connect clients to vital services. —Rob Christopher

Donate to Lakeview Pantry here.

Active Transportation Alliance
The greater Chicago area is dominated by expressways and the automobile. For years the Active Transportation Alliance has worked on behalf of pedestrians, bicyclists and people who use public transit as their primary means of getting around the area and their advocacy has born fruit in the form of protected and buffered bike lanes, better crosswalks, the Open Streets project and lobbying state and local politicians to even the playing field. Eventually Active Trans envisions a Chicago area with half of all trips made via bike, public transit or walking and half as many crashes. —Chuck Sudo

Donate to the Active Transportation Alliance here.

The Brown Elephant
The holiday season is a time of accumulation, filled with new gadgets, objects, gifts and things to fill our lives with. Not that we aren’t thankful for being able to have and afford these new items, but we also like to take this time to reflect on the possessions we already own in life. Maybe declutter a bit and let some items we no longer use move on to a new life. And our favorite place to drop off our donations throughout the year is the Brown Elephant. Proceeds from the Brown Elephant resale shops support the Howard Brown Health Center and their efforts to provide comprehensive health and wellness programs to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. We still encourage you to make a monetary donation as well (a perfect gift to tuck into a card for your charitable loved ones) but taking time to let go of some clutter and start the new year fresh, all while helping out a worthy cause, is a great way to kick off 2014. —Lisa White

Set up a donation to The Brown Elephant by downloading their donation form.

Les Turner ALS Foundation
The ALS Association estimates 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (aka Lou Gherig's Disease) annually. The average life span after diagnosis is 2-5 years. Local businessman Les Turner was diagnosed with ALS in 1976, founded his eponymous foundation in 1977 and died a year later. Today the Les Turner ALS Foundation is one of the largest independent ALS organizations in the country and the money it raises go toward research and patient care. —Chuck Sudo

Donate to the Les Turner ALS Foundation here.

Greater Chicago Food Depository
Chicago's largest food bank network has seen a 68 percent increase in people turning to food pantries for assistance in the past five years. The face of hunger has changed; many people holding down two or more jobs are turning to local pantries in the GCFD network to bridge the gap between being food insecure and having a meal. The winter months are especially brutal as some families will have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent and utilities. Donating to the GCFD will help a family in need put food on their table for the holidays. —Chuck Sudo

Donate to the Greater Chicago Food Depository here or consider contributing to Chicagoist's GCFD Donation Plate.