10 Ways to Give Back This Holiday Season

The holiday season is synonymous with giving, and studies have shown that the benefits of doing so are significant for those who do the giving just as they are for those whom they are helping.

Dr. Stephen Post, author of the book Why Good Things Happen to Good People and codirector of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics at Stony Brook University, said the concept of giving leads to establishing meaningful relationships and can help in the recovery process for someone experiencing hardship.

"Give effectively, using your strengths," Post said. "There are a lot of needy people around in these hard times. A lot! If you focus on the magnitude of the problem, it can be overwhelming and depressing. But if you center attention on some specific needful group or individuals and really tend to them, you feel a sense of effectiveness and impact that is really quite inspiring."

Keeping that in mind, here are several ways you can get involved.

1.  is sponsoring a winter coat drive during the month of November. Coats can be dropped off at the administration building on weekdays or at the church itself on Sundays. The church is also collecting blankets and towels to donate to the Kent Animal Shelter in Calverton.

2. Island Harvest has issued an urgent new appeal for holiday food donations to help feed more than 283,000 Long Islanders in need. Locally,  and  are collecting canned and nonperishable goods, and Panera locations (including one in nearby Port Jefferson Station) are accepting frozen turkey donations.

3.  is seeking volunteer drivers as well as contributions to its annual fund drive. The Stony Brook-based organization is seeking donations to support its mission of providing healthy meals to those who are homebound due to age or illness and unable to obtain food on their own, as well as people to deliver them. A donation as small as $6.50 is enough to provide someone with two meals; $1,690 will support a year's worth of meals. Tax deductible donations can be sent to Three Village Meals on Wheels Inc., PO Box 853, Stony Brook, NY 11790-0853.

4. Get involved with Our Daily Bread, a weekly program at  which provides dinner on Sundays to those in need along with other kinds of support services. Call Joyce Bonitch at 631-941-2731 to find out how to help.

5. Temple Isaiah's "Caring Community" needs volunteers to help in a variety of ways, such as bringing Shabbat services to nursing homes and helping homebound congregants with chores, food shopping and transportation.

6. There's a bunch of ways to help at Save-a-Pet, located in nearby Port Jefferson Station. Volunteers are needed to care for animals and staff the Barkin Basement, and the organization is accepting donations to care for animals until they are adopted and provide spay/neuter services. And of course, you can always adopt a special pet just in time for the holidays.

7. Stony Brook Cares, the university's annual charitable fund drive, supports causes on a local, national, and international scope. The drive ends Dec. 31.

8. Spark some joy in a child's life by supporting , sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corp. You can drop off a new, unwrapped toy donation at in East Setauket during regular business hours.

9. Participate in the annual Gail Gorin Memorial Turkey Trot, which benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The fun run starts at 8:45 a.m. and the main race at 9:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day at .

10. Organize your own fundraiser, food drive, bake sale, or other charitable event. You can add it to our event calendar, and send us an e-mail at christines@patch.com to get the word out!