Giving In Verona On Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday, and while you probably have a list of national volunteer groups and nonprofits to give to, we’d like to also draw your attention to ways to give close to home.

These groups, which are Verona-based or have strong Verona connections,  can put a donation to good use in our community all year long, improving our health and safety, and providing everything from food to scholarships. 

At the top of our list this year is the food pantry at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit. Opened four years ago in the church’s kitchen, the pantry has served a growing list of customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing bags of food to go and making deliveries when necessary.

We’re also adding Let’s Lift Connor. Created by the community service group Verona Together, Let’s Lift Connor is raising funds, and rallying skills, to modify the home of the Barshay family to make it wheelchair-friendly for their son Connor, who has has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive muscular weakness disorder. 

Speaking of skills, many of the groups on this list need volunteers as much as donations. That includes the Verona Rescue Squad and Verona Fire Department, which also take high school students as auxiliary members, as well as Knit For A Need, the charity knitting and crocheting group organized by the Verona Public Library. It is now working on warm winter gear for the Salvation Army shelter in Newark. 

And finally, on Giving Tuesday and every day, it’s a good idea to dine local at Verona’s cafes and restaurants. These businesses regularly donate to many of our local charities.

1. Holy Spirit Food Pantry
2. Let’s Lift Connor (Verona Together)
3. Verona Rescue Squad
4. Verona Fire Department
5. Verona PBA Local 72
6. Verona Park Conservancy
7. Verona Public Library
8. The Hilltop Conservancy
9. Verona Environmental Commission
10. Minette’s Angels Foundation
11. Team Zoey
12. Verona Junior Woman’s Club
13. Verona Woman’s Club
14. Verona Lion’s Club
15. Verona UNICO
16. Verona Municipal Alliance Committee (VMAC)
17. Verona Foundation for Educational Excellence (VFEE)
18. Verona Music Parents Association
19. Verona Boy Scouts Troop 2
20. Verona Girl Scouts Unit 26
21. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention walk in Verona Park
22. Newman Cares
23. Backpacks for Life
24. Verona Field Hockey Parents Association
25. Verona Children’s Fund: No website; drop off a check at Town Hall

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash