No matter how you celebrate, embracing the generosity of giving is part of the holiday spirit. Here are four noble causes you can support this season to warm some hearts as the weather gets colder:

A Wider Circle

A Wider Circle is a charity group based out of Silver Spring whose goal is to provide a range of services for families and individuals in need, often helping families in the Maryland area.

The charity assists with many facets of poverty, offering services like working on homes, running food drives, preparing resumes, helping the unemployed with job interviews, running financial planning courses and more.

“We’re well known for our program to furnish homes of those in need,” Wider Circle deputy director Anne Thompson said. “This year we’re on track to furnish about 4,500 homes. We provide basic necessities to those transitioning, fleeing domestic violence or simply in need, which creates stability and a sense of dignity so that they can go on to whatever the next part of the journey out of poverty is.”

Students can get involved by donating well cared-for furniture and other essentials like beds, towels, cleaning supplies, lamps, baby items and more. The full list of needed items and instructions for arranging a donation are available on their website: awidercircle.org. They also accept financial donations for their projects.

For those wanting to help in a more hands-on manner, you can volunteer for a variety of jobs with A Wider Circle—and even receive SSL hours in the process.

“We have opportunities to work with our neighbor-to-neighbor program and help with picking up furniture for donations,” Thompson added: “Another good way to support us is by running food and donations drives through their sports teams or clubs to provide nonperishable food, cleaning supplies and other vital needs of the poor.”

A Wider Circle works tirelessly to improve the quality of life of those in need, making it a truly noble cause to support.

“We really do provide our clients with stable homes from which to improve their lives,” Thompson said. “It’s an important first step.”

Shepherd’s Table 

Established in 1983, this organization provides meals, clothing and other support to the homeless. With the help of their staff and community volunteer efforts, Shepherd’s Table has served over 1,000,000 meals to those in need in the MoCo and DC areas.

Volunteerism, including the help of students, powers this altruistic organization.

“Volunteer time is a great way to give back: you can engage with our clients and see the issue of homelessness in person,” said Jilna Kothary, a development and communications associate at Shepherd’s Table. “We have a lot of opportunities such as dining services and student groups that come in and do small projects like painting landscaping or sorting clothes.”

But if you’re just looking to donate, Shepherd’s Table takes cash or credit donations, and is also looking for gently used clothing—particularly jackets and seasonal clothing to prepare those in need for winter.

You can learn more about the organization and what they do for Maryland’s homeless at shepherdstable.org/.

“People are so appreciative and that’s probably the most rewarding thing,” Kothary said. “Homelessness could happen to everybody, and being able to give somebody hope is great.”

Bethesda Cares

This charity focuses on preventing and alleviating homelessness in the Bethesda area.

They provide warm and nutritious meals, a mail service, showers, warm drinks, clothes and assistance in paying for prescribed medication to the homeless as facets of their program for easing the effects of poverty.

Bethesda Cares also provides a financial stabilization program which offers short-term financial support to help those in danger of becoming homeless stay on their feet and retain their homes.

Volunteers for Bethesda Cares can help by donating to or hosting food drives or by assisting serving and bringing food to their kitchens to support consistent meals for Bethesda’s homeless.

Students can assist with Saturday lunch services for SSL hours, working directly with those in need and offering a chance to understand the conditions others less fortunate than us may be in.

“Many students are not impoverished and are not exposed to what it’s like living on the street,” executive director Susan Kirk said. “It opens people’s eyes to the reality of income inequality and poverty.”

Bethesda Cares also frequently holds donations drives and is in need of non-perishable foods, toiletries, seasonal clothing, bottled water and breakfast items like tea and oatmeal. They also accept financial donations to help cover costs.

Students can learn about contributing to or volunteering for this organization at http://bethesdacares.org/how-you-can-help/.

“We help those who are overlooked,” Kirk said. “We could really use any kind of support.”

Children’s National Hospital 

Many Whitman students are familiar with Children’s National Hospital in DC from our school’s Walk Away Cancer event, but you might not know about other ways you can support this cause.

Staff at Children’s National work tirelessly to treat kids with childhood diseases and research prevention and treatment of such diseases. Students can contribute towards providing specialized equipment, innovative treatments, research and more through donations. These donations help fund treatment for children and provide services that insurance can’t cover.

Donating to Children’s National funds an excellent cause that helps better the lives of kids in need.

You can learn more and give at childrensnational.org/.