One of the best ways to strengthen a community is to get neighbors to work towards a common goal. In the spirit of the holiday season, organizing a group donation for those in need is a great way for your HOA to make a positive difference in the areas surrounding your community.
For inspiration, here are several holiday donation ideas for your HOA community:
- Sponsor a family in need.
It’s easy to become caught up in shopping and lavish parties during the holiday season; however, what we don’t always remember is that there are families in need around us that aren’t able to give their children presents as they’re struggling to put food on the table.
Sponsoring a local family in need can be a reality check and remind residents what the holidays are really all about. Doing Good Together is a non-profit organization that can help your HOA community find a local family to sponsor for the holidays.
When you adopt a family, you will receive their holiday wishlist, and residents in your HOA can signup to purchase items from the list. Coming together as a community to help a local family in need will bring exponential holiday joy to all involved.
- Host a coat drive.
While we’re fortunate to not have harsh winters in Florida, we still experience cold temperatures this time of year. Hosting a jacket drive is a great way to circulate jackets to locals in need on chilly winter days and nights.
One Warm Coat is a non-profit organization that can help you put together a coat drive for your HOA community. Ask your neighbors to donate their gently-used jackets to go towards this important cause. Hosting a community coat drive is a great way to get neighbors of all ages together to serve a philanthropic purpose.
- Participate with Toys for Tots.
Residents of your HOA community are already at the mall shopping for holiday presents, so encourage them to pick up one more item to donate to Toys for Tots. The new, unwrapped toy donations will be distributed to local children that may not otherwise receive holiday gifts.
Placing a Toys for Tots collection box in your community clubhouse can serve as a central location for neighbors to drop off donations. When organizing the event, let HOA residents know the timeframe for when they can drop off gifts. You can then select a date that you will bring the donations to your local Toys for Tots program.
- Setup an Angel Tree for Low-Income Senior Citizens
There are several nursing homes and rehab facilities throughout Florida that house low-income elderly residents. Be a Santa to a Senior is a non-profit organization that can match your HOA community with a local senior citizen in need.
If your HOA chooses to adopt several local senior citizens for the holidays, you can set up an angel tree where each participating senior citizen has one wishlist item written down on an ornament on the tree. You can place the tree inside your community clubhouse, and HOA residents can choose an ornament from the tree with a gift assignment. Once purchased, all gifts should be wrapped and placed back under the tree. Your HOA can coordinate a time to deliver the gifts to the local nursing home or rehab center.
Contact us at Vesta Property Services for more ways that your Florida HOA community can give back during the holiday season.
