This Winter, Give the Gift of Hope
The state of the world has been looking dark. Helping our fellow human beings is one way to add some light.
Magazines take a few months to put together, so I’m writing my annual holiday donations column in October. It isn’t even Halloween yet! Things look bleak right now, but by the time you read these words, who knows? Maybe Zohran Mamdani will be mayor-elect of New York, all those candidates you wrote postcards for will have won, Donald Trump will have run off to a Buddhist monastery, and JD Vance will have quit to start the Cat Lovers for Taylor Swift Fan Club. Sign me up, JD!
Even if all these wonderful things happen, the world will still need your help. So, Nation readers of the not-so-distant future, reach deep into your pockets and give generously to any and all of these groups.
1. Fistula Foundation. Obstetric fistula is a serious birth injury that causes incontinence. It’s not uncommon in parts of the world where medical help during childbirth is unavailable, and it leads to humiliation and ostracism that can last a lifetime. The only cure is surgery, and that is what the Fistula Foundation provides, organizing over 100,000 operations since 2009. Just think, for $633—the full cost of a surgery—you can transform a woman’s life (all amounts welcome, of course). fistulafoundation.org/donate
2. Food banks. Food prices are soaring, and SNAP benefits are being snipped and even canceled. As more people turn to food pantries and soup kitchens in these tough times, these essential charities are under incredible stress. My neighborhood food pantry has had to shrink its catchment area—and it’s one of the city’s better-funded. This holiday season, be a good neighbor and write a generous check to your local food pantry. Even if your area is prosperous, you can be sure that there are people who are struggling to feed their families. Then, if you can, write another check for a food pantry or soup kitchen in a low-income neighborhood.
3. Abortion Care Network. As states ramp up their anti-choice laws and force their abortion clinics to close, clinics where abortion is legal are facing increased pressure from an influx of out-of-state patients. Abortion Care Network supports independent abortion clinics with the funds, tools, and resources they need to keep going strong. abortioncarenetwork.org/donate
4. Care for All. Located in Milwaukee, Care for All is a newly opened clinic that provides abortions regardless of a patient’s immigration status or ability to pay. Just in time, too, because as of October, Planned Parenthood had to pause providing abortions in Wisconsin because of a Trumpian ban on Medicaid payments to the organization. As one of only three clinics, including Planned Parenthood, in the large and populous state, Care for All has its hands full. Buy them an item from their Amazon wish list, or better yet, sign up for a monthly donation. careforallwi.org/how-to-help
5. Midwest Access Coalition. Despite the popularity of abortion pills, plenty of women still need surgical abortions. But because of bans and restrictions in many states, getting that care increasingly means long trips, which delay care and are impossibly expensive for many. MAC is a travel service that covers abortion seekers traveling to or from 12 Midwestern states. It makes all the arrangements and pays for everything but the procedure itself—transportation, food, lodging, even childcare. midwestaccesscoalition.org/donate
6. Help Lesotho. This Canadian NGO provides education and social support in the tiny, landlocked African nation—one of the world’s poorest, with high rates of people living with HIV. Life just got harder there, thanks to Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and big tariffs on textiles. (Denim clothing factories are one of Lesotho’s few vital industries.) Based in the country’s rural areas, Help Lesotho reaches out especially to schoolchildren, single mothers, grandmothers struggling to raise their orphaned grandchildren, and herd boys who live isolated lives tending livestock. helplesotho.org/donate
7. Doctors Without Borders (MSF). I don’t usually feature big NGOs, but with the world in crisis in so many places, sometimes it makes sense to support a charity that is already scaled up to help worldwide. Right now, 1,000 MSF staffers are working overtime in Gaza, treating every conceivable need: wounds and burns, maternal and pediatric services, malnutrition (yes, the famine is real), mental health support, and lots more. An unrestricted gift to MSF aids in crises around the world—Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, among many other nations. To earmark your gift for Gaza, you can either write “Gaza” on the check, call MSF’s donor services line at 888-392-0392, or e-mail [email protected] after donating online. give.doctorswithoutborders.org
8. Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). This organization helps immigrants in Texas and elsewhere with social needs, mental health, and pro bono legal aid. Its bond fund has helped keep 2,000 people out of detention, including clients detained by ICE. RAICES is one of our most dedicated advocates for fairer immigration policies—which we need now more than ever. raicestexas.org
9. Media and Democracy Project. Fair and accurate news has never been more important, but there’s less and less of it. This all-volunteer group relies on your donations to support local media and to fight Fox and the Trump administration’s war on the press. Help get the news out! mediaanddemocracyproject.org/donate
10. Afghan Women’s Fund. Under the Taliban, Afghan women have lost every right they ever had—from schooling beyond sixth grade to being able to leave the house without a male escort. After the recent earthquake, government workers scooped up injured men and children but left the women lying wherever—mustn’t touch! AWF, an all-volunteer human rights organization, helps girls and women with education, income-generation projects, and material aid. Don’t let Afghan women be abandoned. afghanwomensfund.org/donate
11. National Public Radio. Okay, I know you lefties out there love to complain about NPR—too centrist! Too bourgeois!—but now that Trump has completely defunded it, can you see how much poorer our information landscape would be without it? I listen to WNYC every day, both for All Things Considered and other national news programs and for local programming like The Brian Lehrer Show and All of It with Alison Stewart. In some parts of the country NPR is the only alternative to right-wing and Christian radio, so please chip in now to keep it alive. https://www.npr.org/donations/support
12. Defending Our Neighbors Fund. Right now, all over the country, immigrants are at risk of detention, deportation, and family separation. Too often they have no access to legal representation, even if they are children. This fund, a project of the ACLU and other groups, aims to remedy that. Lawyers to the rescue! https://defendingourneighbors.org/
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