Hello, December
It’s finally December. Soon, this crazy year we call 2020 will be over and, hopefully, the new year will be calmer. December also marks the end of NaNoWriMo for the year. This year, I reached my 50k goal on time — I worked on the first draft of a new novel called Who Knew..?, which I am still working on. I think it needs another 30k before the story is done. But December also means that my Season of Giving is in full force.
Doing it differently
This year, instead of asking you to buy my books to help raise money for charity, I’m asking you to donate directly to charity if you can. I know that this year has put many of us in strained economic situations. But, if you can, please consider donating time, money, clothing, books, etc to organisations that are trying to help people in need, whether it’s families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, women and children in vulnerable situations, helping students in disadvantaged areas, local literacy centres.
I usually talk about raising money for charity during this season because it is the time of year when we traditionally give. However, I think that, if we can, we should try to help throughout the year.
Some organizations we can support
If you’d like some suggestions for organizations which you could help, here are a few that I already support. Some of them are organizations that I have supported for many years. Others I’ve come into contact through the fantastic members of the Sussex Squad (fans and supporters of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and their adorable son Archie) through our interactions on Twitter.
- Philabundance – an organization based in my hometown of Philadelphia and a member go Feeding America that strives to end hunger
- Camfed – a pan-African organization that helps young women with education and job training
- Stockholms Stadsmission – an organization based in Stockholm (where I lived until July) that helps the homeless and people in vulnerable situations with food, shelter, and training.
- Black Lives Matter – a US-based organization dedicated to ending racial inequality and ending systemic racism, violence and oppression directed and Black men and women
- Operation Smile – a global medical-based mission whose volunteers perform corrective surgery for people with cleft syndrome
- Color of Change – a US-based organization that helps with powerful campaigns to end injustice and inequality against people of color
- Covenant House – an international organization that helps young people who are homeless, aged out of foster care, at risk, or in vulnerable situations with care, shelter/housing, and training
- Homeboy Industries – an LA-based organization that helps former gang members and formerly incarcerated men and women change the paths of their lives
- Mighty Writers – a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that helps young people with improving their reading and writing skills through workshops, mentoring and support
- NAACP Legal defense fund – a US-based organization dedicated to fighting racial injustice through litigation, advocacy and education
- Smart Works – a UK organization that helps unemployed women with coaching and styling to help them return successfully to working
- The Hubb Community Kitchen – following the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which devastated so many lives, a group of women who survived needed a place to cook for their families. This led to feeding the community affected by the fire. Buying their cookbook helps to continue to support their efforts to provide food for people in need.
- Lighthouse Relief – an organization based in Greece that has helped refugees and asylum seekers arriving on the island of Lesvos with emergency relief and long-term psychological support
- Undocublack Network – a US-based network of currently and formerly undocumented Blacks who, through advocacy, organising, alliances and education, try to develop tools, affect change to foster a sense of community, and make lives better for people trying to make a better life in the US
These are just a few organisations that could use our help. If you already have organizations that you support, share them with us. Share their name and link in the comments or drop me a line and I can add them to our list.
Let’s keep spreading the word so that we can continue to affect positive change and help make the world a better place.
