Season of Giving

In 2012, a pair of Manhattan-based nonprofit organizations, the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, decided to try out a new idea: With “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” already in place on the post-Thanksgiving calendar, they snagged the next day and dubbed it “Giving Tuesday.”

At first, the goal was just to raise money for the two organizations, but the concept quickly went viral — aided by the fact that the nonprofits intentionally decided not to trademark the name, hashtag or concept. Any group could use the fundraising opportunity of “Giving Tuesday.”

That first year, an estimated $10 million was raised for charities. A year later, it was $28 million. By the end of the decade, “Giving Tuesday” was an international phenomenon — and it raised $2.47 billion for a wide variety of charitable efforts.

It’s an anecdote that shows something about this time of year, which is now more and more being branded as the “Season of Giving,” with an official launch on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, but encompassing all of December. That takes advantage of the generous feelings surrounding Christmas and Hanukkah — and, let’s be candid, it’s also when a lot of families and businesses are looking to write checks for tax purposes. Basically, people are ready to give, and the Season of Giving gives them an excuse to take action: They just need to know where to send help.

The answer? So, so many places. There are wonderful national and international organizations, but let’s focus on the local community — because there are so many among our population who need help, and charity truly does begin at home. It’s also a fact that money invested in your own community is typically used more frugally, and it offers a bonus boost to the local economy, since so much of it will be spent with local vendors.

So, where can you help? Start with food pantries — help put food on the table, and you’ve really helped. The seasonal East End economy may boom in the summer, but it leaves many working families short of funds and food in winter, when heating costs are highest. That’s why the region’s food pantries are vital for helping local residents get through the coldest months of the year.

Every week, food pantries from Hampton Bays to Montauk feed upward of 3,000 people, and while food donations are helpful and much appreciated, it’s monetary donations that do the most good, allowing pantries the flexibility to purchase exactly what they need to round out their offerings to hungry families.

In 1992, Springs Food Pantry was established by members of the Springs Presbyterian Church to help fishing and farming families get through the winter. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the pantry, which is now a nondenominational nonprofit, and while there are far fewer fishermen and farmers in the area these days, the need remains. In 2021, the Springs Food Pantry had 40,823 recipient visits.

The situation and need is similar in other parts of East Hampton Town, where, despite the surrounding affluence, there are still families, senior citizens and individuals who can’t quite make ends meet. The Montauk Food Pantry is located on the lower level of the St. Therese Parish Center, while East Hampton Food Pantry distributes food from a space off Pantigo Road, as well as at East Hampton High School and its Amagansett satellite, serving over 7,000 households each year.

Share the Harvest is a nonprofit farming organization that was founded in 2010 on a half acre with the goal of fighting hunger with fresh, local produce. Today, Share the Harvest farms six acres at EECO Farm in East Hampton, where it grows thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables and herbs, which it donates to pantries and other local organizations that feed working families in the community.

Every Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to noon, the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry provides emergency food to upward of 400 people at the First Presbyterian (Old Whalers’) Church in Sag Harbor. The volunteer-based organization accepts nonperishable donations at any time in the blue plastic containers located at the side entrance of the church office, as well as fresh food on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Southampton Village-based Heart of the Hamptons, led by executive director Molly Bishop, has been providing food and other essentials to residents in the village and beyond for more than 40 years. It started as a modest food pantry and has evolved steadily over the decades to include other vital services and resources for those in need, always with a focus on respecting the dignity and privacy of the clients they serve. Heart of the Hamptons partners with other community organizations, from schools to churches to senior centers, to provide a wide net of support, serving more than 1,600 families annually.

Another organization that’s newer but has been very effective is Hamptons Community Outreach. Founder and Executive Director Marit Molin started the organization with a mission of “bridging the opportunity gap experienced by underserved youth, families and others” in the community. With an emphasis on serving all communities, families in particular, of diverse backgrounds, Hamptons Community Outreach has done everything from help rebuild a home heating system to coordinating drives for diapers and feminine hygiene products, to buying groceries, paying for necessary home repairs, coordinating tutoring, crisis intervention and more.

St. Rosalie’s Community Food Pantry provides meals and groceries to the needy living in the Hampton Bays, East Quogue and Flanders area, south of the Big Duck. And Goodwill African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Galilee Church of God in Christ, both in Riverside, also offer food pantries.

Immaculate Conception Church in Westhampton Beach collects food or nonfood necessity donations for the Westhampton Food Pantry at its parish center, which is also a drop-off location for Christmas gifts and gift cards for its “Adopt-a-Family” program.

Hampton Bays School District’s Food For Thought food pantry accepts perishable and nonperishable food, as well as paper goods, health care items and art supplies at the high school, which is located at 88 Argonne Road East. Donations, as part of a partnership with Stop & Shop, can also be submitted via a bin labeled “Food For Thought” at the supermarket, located at 194 West Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays.

The district also partners with the nonprofit Catie’s Closet to provide gently used or new clothing, shoes and toiletries to students and families in need. Donations can also be made directly to the high school. For more information or to make monetary donations, email Eric Ferraro, the school district’s executive director for educational services, at eferraro@hbschools.us.

The Westhampton Beach Little Free Pantry on Mill Road is there 24/7 for anyone who wishes to donate food and essentials, and for anyone in need to take what they require.

For more than 30 years, volunteers from East Hampton Meals on Wheels have been delivering two nutritious meals each day to homebound clients in the town of East Hampton. The organization provides some 300 meals per week to seniors and other homebound residents and acts as a safety check on loved ones for families who live outside of the area. But Meals on Wheels receives no federal, state or county government subsidies; instead, it relies on private donations and sliding scale donations from clients who are able to provide them.

The Clamshell Foundation was founded in 1992 by the late Rossetti Perchik, whose love for East Hampton and local waters inspired him to create events for all. Today, 30 years later, the foundation is still going strong and supports East End people, programs and projects by providing funds to and partnering with local groups like The Retreat, OLA of Eastern Long Island and East End Cares, a social media-based group that connects those who want to help others with the opportunities to do just that.

Working parents often struggle to find safe and affordable after-school care offering meaningful programs for their children. Project Most is an organization East Hampton families rely on for year-round extracurricular enrichment for their children. During the school year, Project Most provides academic and elective enrichment for students in Pre-K through grade 8 at John Marshall and Springs School. The organization also offers weekend and school vacation programs, as well as tutoring and academic assistance.

Other organizations that could use some extra support during the holidays include the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, which serves as a lifeline for many working parents and members of the African American community, and Fighting Chance, a free cancer counseling and resource center. Also doing important work is LGBT Network’s Hamptons LGBT Center, which provides a home and safe space for the LGBTQ+ and allied community, as well as offers services like free youth counseling, crisis intervention, and screenings for HIV, HCV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Maureen’s Haven, a homeless outreach based in Riverhead but serving the entire East End, offers a safe place to stay in the winter months and housing placement, support services, access to case management, connection to services, job assistance, counseling, and many other services to help people experiencing homelessness to reintegrate into the community.

Neighbors in Support of Immigrants, or NISI, is a Hampton Bays-based organization that provides aid to the immigrant families who relocate to the South Fork, whether it’s recycled bicycles in good condition or scholarships to camp programs. NISI is planning a Rural Migrant Ministry, which will allow farm workers to select appropriate gifts for their children at Christmas.

And if you’d like to help internationally, you can do it through an organization that started and remains based in Southampton: Operation International, which brings together health care professionals from throughout the region to provide medical treatment, free of charge, in communities of need all over the globe via mission trips.

This is not a comprehensive list, of course — in addition to many deserving cultural institutions, there are many, many more charitable organizations serving the South Fork’s less fortunate, and all could use a little help this holiday season. Information about how to donate to each is easy to find online. Think about the effort you put into holiday shopping for your loved ones; spend just a fraction of that time into making one or more charitable donations during this Season of Giving. Dollar for dollar, it will generate an even greater amount of holiday cheer, for others and for you.