PADUCAH — Ahead of Giving Tuesday, one local nonprofit employee shared what people can do to help those in need as the new year approaches.
Giving Tuesday, which this year is Dec. 3, is held annually the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and aims to promote philanthropy and generosity within communities. One local homeless support and food assistance organization, Paducah Cooperative Ministry, received nearly $1,000 on Giving Tuesday last year.
Will Brandon, community engagement coordinator at Paducah Cooperative Ministry, said while the money was significant, the need continues.
Will Brandon
“We spend close to $10,000 a month just on taking care of people’s, like, rent and utilities, and that’s not counting anything that we spend on food,” he said.
Brandon said nonprofits often exhaust their yearly budgets around October, which leaves them to rely on community donations through the end of the year.
“For both our food pantry and our financial assistance, we’re pretty much running them strictly off of donations and the community support,” Brandon said. “So opportunities like this are important, and every single dollar, every penny, is going towards helping those that need it.”
For those who feel financial strain themselves and cannot contribute money, Brandon said nonprofits can often benefit from extra volunteer hours around the holidays.
Another way to give back is through food drives — many organizations, including PCM, collect non-perishable food items.
“The Christmas lights in the park, donate a couple canned goods, but we’ll take your food as well,” Brandon said. “You know, people need it. So if you can’t donate a dollar, donate a can, and we share what we can. So that’s all that you can do sometimes.”
To learn how to find a legitimate nonprofit organization to donate to, visit the Tax Exempt Organization Search on the IRS website — a search for the Paducah area yields more than 600 results. From there, prospective donors can click each organization to learn more.
To volunteer or donate to PCM, visit Paducah Cooperative Ministry online.
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