Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and many homeowners in your HOA community are looking for ways to give back to local families in need this holiday season. HOA board members can lead the way by organizing an opportunity to help residents get involved with local charities and provide for the community.
Here are several ways HOA board members can help their community give back in honor of Thanksgiving:
- Participate in a Habitat for Humanity build.
For more than 40 years, Habitat for Humanity has been relying on community volunteers to build safe and affordable housing for locals in need. The houses are built at no profit to Habitat for Humanity, and the new homeowner is given a no-interest loan that is provided by supporters of the organization. The homeowner actually builds the home along with community volunteers, which helps all parties to understand how lives are directly impacted by the organization. Habitat for Humanity offers several opportunities to volunteer in Florida, including opportunities to get local youth involved.
- Organize a food drive to benefit local families in need.
While many people want to give back to the community, they’re not sure how to go about it. Organizing a food drive to benefit local families in need provides an easy solution for residents to give back to the community despite their busy schedules. A number of local nonprofits are hosting food drives this holiday season, and HOA board members can select a group to give donations to.
Establish a single-site drop-off for donations (your community clubhouse, for example), and make residents aware of the set hours that they are able to drop-off food. Once all of the items are collected, HOA board members can make a collective donation of food items on behalf of the neighborhood.
- Organize a clothing drive.
Some residents in your HOA community are cleaning out their closets in preparation of the holiday season. Encourage these residents to donate their clothing to a local non-profit by organizing a clothing drive. Similar to a food drive, residents can drop-off items at the community clubhouse, and one collective donation can be made to the non-profit on behalf of the HOA community.
- Volunteer at a local soup kitchen.
Not everyone is fortunate to know where their next meal is coming from. To ensure that local families in need enjoy a Thanksgiving meal this year, HOA board members can get residents to help out at a local soup kitchen. Volunteering at a soup kitchen is a way for the entire family to get involved in giving back to the community and will help to teach the meaning of the season.
- Clean up local roads.
Many of us take for granted the beautiful roads that surround our Florida neighborhoods. The help of local volunteers is often enlisted to keep our local roads beautiful. Organize a cleanup of local roads to get residents involved in this initiative. Adopt-a-Highway through the Florida Department of Transportation is a way that your HOA community can participate in an ongoing effort to keep the roads that surround your neighborhood looking beautiful.
If HOA board members are looking for additional ideas to help their community give back this Thanksgiving, we can help. Vesta Property Service has been partnering with HOA communities in Florida for more than 25 years. Contact us to learn how we can help you cultivate a sense of community and give back this holiday season.
