#GivingTuesday Is Tomorrow, December 2

Well, we’ve had Thanksgiving, then Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday (today) and now Giving Tuesday, which is in its third year. This is a big deal for nonprofits and the like, and we thought we’d highlight a few of the organizations in Astoria and LIC that could benefit from Giving Tuesday (or, #GivingTuesday).

APAC is much beloved in the neighborhood and is Astoria’s premiere live theatre experience. They have brought so much to the arts scene in the neighborhood (they are within the Kaufman Arts District, too) and are very deserving of support. You can donate to them here. And a word from Erin Moore, APAC’s Executive Director, “As a bonus, we are sending a special surprise thank you to anyone who makes a donation of any size between now and Tuesday at midnight.” Everyone wins!

Hour Children helps women and their children affected by the prison system by providing education, skills and support. Here’s their statement:

A union between a mother and child is one of the most sacred. Every mother wants to provide for her child, but many incarcerated and recently released mothers lack essential life skills, education, and support. Your gift does so much to help families escape this cycle of incarceration and poverty. You’re helping incarcerated and recently released women get a second chance at a productive life by opening doors so they can reunite with their children, gain valuable life skills, and build successful lives.

A gift to Hour Children makes a huge difference in improving women and chidren’s lives. Here is their donation page; you can give one time or start up a recurring donation.

Museum of the Moving Image is looking to you to help fund their teaching artist program. From their #GivingTuesday email:

We know you’re receiving many requests this #GivingTuesday, but your gift of $25 to the Museum will support one hour of a teaching artist’s time leading one of our after-school game design, video production, or animation classes. A gift from you today helps us teach a group of young media makers the 21st century skills—like collaboration and critical thinking, as well as digital design and coding—they need for success.

You can make a donation here.

The Queens Library is an amazing resource in our neighborhoods—it’s hard to fathom the idea that we could be without libraries. The Queens Library system is a home for books, of course, and also holds classes and workshop, shows movies, provides a safe place for kids, and much more. Consider giving to the foundation behind the Queens Library tomorrow for Giving Tuesday. Here’s their donation page.

Zone 126 focuses its work in LIC (zip codes 11101, 11102, and 11106) and their mission is “driving community transformation for children and families in Astoria and Long Island City’s concentrated pockets of poverty” in the aforementioned zips. Their vision is for “every child to graduate from high school prepared for college, and enter the workforce equipped with the skills needed to thrive in a 21st century world.” So, education and skills for young people is their bag.

Giving to Zone 126 is really worthwhile—for every dollar you donate, they bring in three. Here’s their giving page, which makes it easy to contribute.

Aside from this, remember that Costa’s office is hosting three charity drives—coats, food, and toys. And there will be a fun holiday toy drive at Melrose Ballroom, organized by Carnival of Love, on the evening of Thursday, December 4.

If there are other organizations and efforts you think we should know about, please let us know! A comment, email, or tweet are welcome.