Christmas is over, but giving season for nonprofits is just starting to peak.

Beyond the opportunity to add some money to their accounts, Giving Tuesday has other benefits for nonprofit organizations that last well beyond that particular day.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – More than 100 local kids will benefit from a special gift this holiday season. Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lynchburg unwrapped Kindle E-readers Monday. And the reason why the number has spiked even more is because of COVID-19. Some are going part time, and those that are home may not have that support system that all other kids have,” said Dhomonique Ricks Murphy, founder of Readers2Leaders. The kids will also be able to go online to track how many books they read and what they learned.

ROANOKE, Va. – Illuminights continues to light up Roanoke County’s Explore Park and provide COVID-19-safe holiday fun for families. Organizers are asking folks to bring a couple cans of donated food which they will give it to the Agape Center in Roanoke. This location just opened in the summer and not only doing they minister and mentor those in need, but they also provide food, clothing, and furnishings to anyone who comes by. The executive director, Susan Frase, said one of their favorite things to do is give out birthday baskets to the people they help. “One lady cried and cried, because nobody is going to remember her birthday.

ROANOKE, Va. – The Salvation Army desperately needs your help this holiday season. COVID-19 is restricting the Red Kettle fundraiser, the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year, because there are smaller crowds at stores and people don’t have cash or change. The Salvation Army of Roanoke says its need is up 47%, and already, the campaign is $12,00 behind where they were this time last year. Russell Clay from Salvation Army of Roanoke. You can donate online, with Apple Pay or Google Pay, or by scanning the QR code on the Salvation Army red kettle signs with your phone.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Giving Tuesday is this week -- and local nonprofits need your help more than ever before. Staff members at Park View Community Mission in Lynchburg say they’ve seen an influx of people since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We’re told around 1,300 people in the community go hungry every day. “Saturday they say, ‘Shop local.’ On Tuesday, we hope it will be ‘Give local;’ and I like to say because then you know where it’s going, especially if it’s a food pantry like ours,” said Earl Larkins, a Park View spokesperson. The global day of giving takes place every Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – It’s been an especially trying year for nonprofits, as many are struggling with record low donations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why Giving Tuesday is more important than ever before. Giving Tuesday is typically a big day for organizations to get much-needed funding to continue serving their communities. The United Way in the New River Valley is just one of those hoping to benefit from your generosity on a day dedicated to giving. There are many more nonprofits in need of your help on Giving Tuesday.

Simply by writing a letter to Santa, you can help Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia. During Macy’s “National Believe Week,” the company will donate $2 to Make-A-Wish for every letter written to Santa. National Believe Week ends on Saturday, December 5, at which time Macy’s will go back to donating $1 per letter until December 24. It’s a simple, yet powerful way to help the nonprofit that makes the wishes and dreams of sick children come true. The partnership with Make-A-Wish is part of Macy’s 13th Annual Believe Campaign.

ROANOKE, Va. – A safe space for human trafficking victims is one step closer to opening in the Roanoke Valley. Street Ransom has spent years renovating a safe home and raising money for operating costs. It will be the only safe home in Virginia that serves juvenile victims of sex trafficking. Virginia was the last state to criminalize human trafficking and Street Ransom leaders say the commonwealth has been playing catch-up ever since. Street Ransom has raised enough money to cover shelter operating costs for three years.

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Thanksgiving is a time to give back and local nonprofits are working hard to make sure no family goes hungry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit had to make some changes to its Thanksgiving meal box program. They’re holding more pop-up food distributions and moving a lot more food. “We’ve been distributing around anywhere between 20 and 30 some percent more food, and particularly the government food,” said Irvine. “Whether or not they are this year, I hope that they still do.”To donate or learn more about the United Way’s Thanksgiving meal box program, click here.

JDRF has ordered no in-person events, cut 50% of its staff and closed many chapters, including in Roanoke. “They have to rely on local volunteers a lot more than they did,” Southard said. Despite unprecedented obstacles, they’ve managed to pull off a pandemic-appropriate plan: a virtual concert set for Sunday. The work could not only help Southard, but millions of people counting on it for a better life. The virtual concert will be livestreamed on the JDRF Greater Blue Ridge Facebook page.

ROANOKE, Va. – Total Action for Progress, or TAP, has announced a new initiative to help families get out of and stay out of poverty. Tuesday morning, TAP announced a campaign to raise $150,000 called Bringing Home Hope. This will help support TAP’s work in education and employment, domestic violence and family services, as well as in housing and financial services. And so Bringing Hope Home gives the community an opportunity to say, ‘TAP, we value you. We want you here, so here’s our support,’” TAP president and CEO Annette Lewis said.

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Rescue Mission is celebrating 72 years of serving the community, but it needs the community’s help to keep going. The homeless shelter is hoping to raise $100,000 by the end of July. Friday, the shelter held an outdoor community celebration with music, water balloons and frozen lemonade to mark the milestone. The shelter hoped to raise $10,000 on Friday. To donate, contact the Rescue Mission.

ROANOKE, Va – Children from the West End Center for Youth got the chance to connect with local law enforcement Tuesday. The West End Walk started in 2016 as a partnership between the Grandin Theatre and the West End Center in hopes of introducing children at the center to resources in their community and connect the two neighborhoods. “Exposing kids to new opportunities is just really important to use and something we value,” West End Center for Youth executive director Amanda Nastiuk said. Run About Sports provides the children with shoes for the one mile walk from the center to the theater. “We’re really a place where kids can come and build resilience so that kids can be successful in the future,” Nastiuk said.

ROANOKE, Va. The United Way of Roanoke Valleys COVID-19 Community Response Fund has finally met its goal of $200,000 to help people in need. This week, United Way met its goal to thanks to donations from businesses and community members. Two phases of funding have already been distributed to meet community needs, including food, PPE, child care and summer care. Moving forward, United Way is saving about $30,000 for the fall to help as more needs arise. How do we make sure that were making the most use of any resources that we have as a community and being smart about that? said Abby Hamilton, the President and CEO of United Way of Roanoke Valley.

ROANOKE, Va. A local nonprofit that plays a critical role in breaking the cycle of generational poverty welcomed a new leader during this unprecedented time. The West End Center for Youth provides after school and summer childcare for low-income families. The nonprofit announced it has a new executive director who said helping children who have suffered from trauma is one of her main priorities. What West End Center really is, is a place for children to come and build resilience and all the studies show when youre trauma-informed and when youre using that kind of approach to working with children, youre helping them build resilience and the academic outcomes follow, said Amanda Nastiuk, Executive Director. She hopes the West End Center doesnt just care for the children, but also helps pull parents out of poverty.

ROANOKE, Va. Some people evacuated from a Roanoke hotel during last weeks flooding are settling into their new hotels. ARCH Roanoke, a nonprofit that helps the homeless, had dozens of clients staying at the Ramada Inn. ARCH executive director Jeanne McCormick said Tuesday hotel vouchers were paying for the clients to stay in two other hotels through the end of June while the organizations shelter is used as a quarantine site for the homeless. Id say half of our people that we have there, theyre veterans, so PTSD is a big factor. If the shelter still needs to be used as quarantine site after the end of June, she said state and federal funding can be moved around to pay for extended hotel stays.