As more and more people turn to charities for help in the current economic slump, the charities themselves are finding themselves in need.  People faced with job loss, rising costs, foreclosure, etc. are more cautious about donating and volunteering their time.  Corporate donations are down as well.

Ironically, as less people are charitable, more people are finding themselves in need of charity.  Homelessness is on the rise, in large part to the real estate crisis.  Government initiatives seem focused on helping homebuyers, banks, and corporate entities.  Little or no focus appears to be on preventing homelessness.

As we head into the holiday season, consider offering whatever assistance to charities possible, whether it’s donating time, services, goods, or money.  Even the smallest donations have an impact when they happen on a grand scale.

Below is a list of charities that are working to prevent and help those faced with homelessness.

Habitat for Humanity

The National Coalition for the Homeless

Salvation Army

Catholic Charities USA

National Urban League

NeighborWorks

There are many more on both the local and national scale.  To find charities that support your community, search the Local Independent Charities of America Web site.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Random Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.