When people think of Christmas time, they usually think of gifts, joy, family, and more. However, the holidays can be especially hard for people that are low-income, down on their luck, or just having a hard time financially. To put it in perspective, someone who has a hard time handling bills all year ‘round can have an even harder time during the holidays. Christmas time is upon us! In the spirit of good cheer, there are a lot of assistance opportunities that can help those in need. Available support can help with big costs like getting a car or even little costs like getting toys. There is a range of assistance options available!
What Christmas Support is Available?
It’s easy to overlook available Christmas support. Lots of people don’t really consider that it’s a holiday of giving. Even though Christmas is a religious holiday, it is celebrated by millions of people in America (even those who don’t practice religion!).
Christmas Support Options to Consider
You want to keep in mind that the specific assistance available to you may vary from the opportunities available on the list we are about to talk about. That’s because there may be more or less support available for your specific location! However, some popular programs that can help include:
- Cars 4 Heroes: Christmas Drive
- Marine Toys for Tots
- Salvation Army Assistance
- Christmas Tree Project
- Operation Christmas Child
- Local Charity Assistance
Cars 4 Heroes: Christmas Drive
Cars are expensive. Not everyone can handle the cost. One way that people can benefit during the holiday season is by getting a free car! This is made possible by Cars 4 Heroes. The focus of this program is to provide support to heroes like active military members, first responders, veterans, and more. However, people who aren’t considered “heroes” can still benefit as well. The organization aims to help many people with this support! Through this Christmas Car drive, recipients can get vehicles that are also filled with goodies like gas cards, toys, cleaning products, and even a Christmas ham!
Marine Toys for Tots
Countless kids believe that Santa Claus will provide presents to them if they behave well. However, adults know that Santa is not the one providing presents under the tree. The burden falls on the shoulders of parents. However, what if parents can’t afford to buy toys? When struggling to handle bills, toys are usually out of the question. That is why the Toys for Tots program is here. This program has been providing toys to children since all the way back in 1991! The foundation aims to help parents provide free toys to their children which helps parents avoid breaking the bank during the holidays.
Salvation Army Assistance
When people think of the Salvation Army, they may not realize that it is more than a thrift store. In fact, this organization is helpful all year round and especially on Christmas. Throughout the year, this organization is able to provide support through food pantries, homeless shelters, etc. However, even more, support is available during the holidays! Two additional support opportunities in particular are the Angel Tree Program and extra bill pay assistance.
Regarding the Angel Tree Program, this support provides toys to children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get a present for Christmas. When it comes to extra bill pay assistance, the Salvation Army aims to help handle utility bills during the holiday. This is done in hopes of offsetting any burden that comes along with Christmas.
Christmas Tree Project
Christmas is an old holiday filled with many traditions. One of the biggest traditions is getting a Christmas tree! To get even deeper into the Christmas spirit, households will decorate the tree with lights and ornaments. However, these trees can be quite expensive. In fact, the average cost of a Christmas tree is between $78 and $104 depending on whether the tree is real or fake. Through the Christmas Tree Project, households in need can receive a Christmas tree that is fully decorated!
Operation Christmas Child
Children across the globe can benefit from this support opportunity. Through Operation Christmas Child, children can receive shoeboxes full of goodies. This can include toys, hygienic items, and even supplies for school!
Local Charity Assistance
As we said earlier, the assistance available will vary by area. Part of that reason is due to local charity assistance. There are charities all over the country in communities, small and large. These charities can provide assistance to those in need. The exact assistance available will depend on where you go. However, some common forms of assistance include:
- Providing free toys to kids in need on Christmas
- Giving free food to hungry households during the holidays
- Running centers where those in need can get free clothes for cold weather
There are plenty of options out there. To find available assistance, you will want to check out charities close to your zip code.
What to Do If You Can’t Benefit from Christmas Assistance?
Even though there are many families in need, they may not be able to get support through Christmas assistance. Luckily, there are other options that may be able to help:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Housing Choice Voucher Program
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
A common bill that people deal with is getting groceries every week. This expense can add up, especially when households have many mouths to feed. Luckily, there is support available that can help with this cost. SNAP provides support through an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. Every month this card gets filled with funds. The funds on the card can be used towards qualifying groceries. However, the cards can only be used at stores that allow them to be used as a form of payment. The specific amount of money that a person will get on these cards varies depending on details like income level, family size, etc. However, there are maximums for the benefits to be mindful of.
Housing Choice Voucher Program
Another common expense that Americans deal with is the cost of housing. Through the Housing Choice Voucher Program (also known as Section 8), qualifying recipients can get housing vouchers. These housing vouchers can be used to handle housing expenses like rent. However, recipients can only use these vouchers at properties that accept them. While this is a type of federal program, it is managed at the local level through Public Housing Authorities (PHAs).
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
When people find themselves with a limited amount of resources and a limited income, they may be able to benefit from SSI. This program can help those that qualify to get support every month in the form of cash assistance. The amount of assistance will vary depending on the person but there are maximum limits in place. Besides having limited resources and a limited income, qualifying individuals must be at least one of the following:
- 65 years old or older
- Blind
- Disabled
Bottom Line
Christmas can have more opportunities for support than you may realize. Some popular sources of assistance is:
- Cars 4 Heroes: Christmas Drive
- Marine Toys for Tots
- Salvation Army Assistance
- Christmas Tree Project
- Operation Christmas Child
- Local Charity Assistance
Besides these sources of assistance to check out, there are other opportunities that people can benefit from. This includes getting help from programs like:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Housing Choice Voucher Program
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
When it comes to the holidays, you want to make sure they don’t stress you out even more. That is why you should check out some assistance that could help your current situation!