This week is all about giving thanks, and there's no better way to express gratitude than to give back to your community — and Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to do it!
The nationally recognized day, which falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a day for people to donate their time and money to local nonprofit organizations. This year, Giving Tuesday is on Nov. 28.
Each year, organizations across the borough create fundraising campaigns through Brooklyn Gives to make the process easier for people to donate to their favorite causes. On the Brooklyn Gives platform, patrons can crowdfund on behalf of their desired organization or simply make an individual donation.
If you're looking to spread some holiday cheer the Brooklyn way, here are three local initiatives worth supporting.
Brooklyn Book Bodega
When co-founders Seema Aghera and Rebecca Cohen noticed the positive impact of books on their own children's lives, they decided to make it their mission to make reading more accessible. Founded in 2018, the volunteer-run nonprofit focuses on giving children ages 0-18 free books to create an at-home library.
"There is a big demand for 'feed the body, feed the brain,'" said Cohen. "Typically this is done through schools [but] the way we look at it is we really want to weave literacy into the minds of New Yorkers, wherever they are. And so to do that takes the whole community — it takes businesses, community organizations and individuals."
Brooklyn Book Bodega's goal is to ensure all children have books that interest them so that they become consistent readers, said Cohen. As the cost of books continues to rise, Brooklyn Book Bodega offers children a free space where they can see themselves in literature and foster a love for reading.
As the organization continues to grow, Aghera and Cohen are fundraising to hire more staff members and expand their space to hold more books.
Click here to support its cause.
North Brooklyn Angels
In 2017, John Merz and Neil Sheehan founded North Brooklyn Angels — a mobile soup kitchen — to combat food insecurity in northern Brooklyn.
Unlike a normal soup kitchen, the volunteers go directly to where the need is in the "Angel-mobile," a food truck where meals are distributed.
The organization serves about 1,800 meals a week in North Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint, with the help of local volunteers.
"Amid all these like glimmering towers of wealth that are being developed here, like hotels, bars, restaurants, high-rise apartment buildings by the waterfront, it's very easy to forget that there's still a lot of need, that's becoming more and more invisible," said Kendra Chiu, the executive director of North Brooklyn Angels.
The goal of the organization is to make receiving food a dignifying experience, said Chiu. Additionally, as young families migrate to the area, North Brooklyn Angels offers baby and maternity items through its newest program, Angel Babies.
Funding received will go to the expansion of its food services in an effort to meet more people where they are. Click here to support its mission.
STooPS
Founded in 2013 by Kendra Bostock, STooPS celebrates the rich cultural background of Bed-Stuy while bridging the gap between the generations of members living in the neighborhood through free block parties, social events and artistic performances.
"We tend to engage folks who are connected to us through different channels, but sometimes we also get folks who are just strolling by and are like, 'What is this?'" said Bostock. "And that's what we want because it's those strangers that we get to meet that really feed into what we're trying to do, which is make connections through art."
Each year, STooPS partners with local homeowners and businesses like Brooklyn Tea and Bailey's Cafe to host the Bed-Stuy Art Crawl. This outdoor event transforms each stoop into a stage where resident artists, including poets, hair stylists, dancers and more can showcase their art, teach a class or perform.
Many of the local artists have moved due to the rising cost of living in Bed-Stuy, but STooPs continues to connect emerging and alumni artists from the neighborhood, said Bostock.
Donations from its Giving Tuesday campaign will go toward paying artists who lend their skills to programming.
