There isn’t just one season of giving — it can be all year round.
On Tuesday, April 1, it’s officially Arizona Gives Day — a day dedicated to online giving to benefit local nonprofits.
Local non-profit organizations involved in ending hunger and bettering the community, much like the Community Food Bank, benefit from days such as this. Throughout the state, in five counties, the Community Food Bank provides emergency food assistance to around 200,000 people each year. A third of those people are children, whose hunger then negatively affects brain development, behavior, and academic achievement.
Like many other non-profits, the Community Food Bank is taking donations online.
“We have one amazing day to raise $125,000 to continue our work providing emergency food to families hit hard by rising food prices,” the Community Food Bank shared. “There’s never been a more critical time to come together and care for our neighbors.”
Similar efforts are happening at Sol Food Initiatives, Inc., which provides meals to those in need throughout Tucson’s east side community.
Another spot in town that benefits from Arizona Gives Day is the Community Gardens of Tucson. The group offers a space for folks to grow food, share resources, and learn about sustainable gardening practices.
You can also donate at azgives.org.
The Iskashitaa Refugee Network helps UN refugees integrate into the local community while “educating the public, strengthening the local food system, reducing local food waste, and increasing food security.”
Donate online to keep their harvesting van running in tip-top shape.
“Iskashitaa Refugee Network faces a dire threat to its mission of harvesting 75,000 pounds of fruit and resettling UN refugees into the Tucson area. Our creaking, 22-year-old harvesting van needs to be replaced. We are a volunteer-based nonprofit and cannot afford such a purchase on top of day-to-day operations.”
Then, there’s the beloved Mission Garden! The living agricultural museum of Sonoran Desert-adapted heritage fruit trees, traditional local heirloom crops, and edible native plants.
“With the help and participation of the Tucson community, we can continue to provide a window into the past, and inspire practical, local, agricultural methods throughout our semi-arid region.”
Founded in 2003, Local First Arizona focuses on community and economic development throughout Arizona —strengthening, supporting, and celebrating entrepreneurship, rural and urban community development, racial equity, environmental action, and food access.
The Heirloom Farmers Markets play a huge role in feeding those in need, too. By accepting food assistance programs like Snap/EBT, Heirloom means a lot to the local community, farmers, and food vendors.
In Tucson, there’s something magical about a rainy day. Here in the desert, we appreciate storm clouds, and the same goes for Watershed Management Group (WMG).
“We like to educate through hands-on activities whenever possible,” said Lisa Shipek, co-founder of WMG. “We do a lot of free workshops and we offer professional training, too. We have a water harvesting certification we’ve been doing for a really long time, some work in advocacy, and some coalition building. Whatever we teach is something you can easily do at home, like really low-cost flow technology using nature-based solutions.”
These are just a few of the local organizations that could use a helping hand not only on Arizona Gives Day but all throughout the year.
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For more information, visit azgives.org.
