Giving Tuesday: helping Lincoln’s Community Action and the Gathering Place

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Many Lincoln nonprofits are hoping you’ll find a little extra room in your heart and pockets today to give this year for Giving Tuesday.

During this pandemic, Community Action’s Gathering Place soup kitchen is serving double the meals each night. In September and October, more than 4,000 hot meals were served each month. Many of these people receiving food recently have never needed The Gathering Place’s services until now.

For Giving Tuesday, The Gathering Place is doing a dollar for dollar match. This year’s goal is to raise $121,000. With monetary donations from people in the community, sponsors like the Acklie Foundation, Miriam Moeller Charitable Trust, Union Bank and Trust, Horizon Bank, and Bukaty Companies will match those donations.

Community Action says they’ve been humbled by the support the community has shown throughout the pandemic already, helping them reach the record need for meals.

Communications and development coordinator Jessie Hedrick said, “We’ve been busy every night of the week. So, that increase in meal service, of course, also means we need an increase in community support to keep that up, and it’s really really needed right now.”

All donations will ensure those in Lincoln who need hot and nutritious meals will get them. These free to-go meals are served near 14th and E from 5 to 6 every evening, no questions asked.

In addition to serving hot meals, for more than 10 years, Community Action has been making sure kids in Lincoln don’t go without a gift for Christmas.

In 2019, The nonprofit gave out almost 1,000 gifts. In 2020, they’re expecting the need to be much higher.

New, unwrapped toys are now being accepted for families who benefit from Community Actions’ services. For many people the nonprofit serves, they say buying gifts during the holidays is challenging, especially for those with more than one child.

To help with social distancing, this year, you can give gifts online through their wish list HERE. This way, toys can be shipped directly to Community Action.

“What if you give a kid their favorite gift of all year? That would be amazing. Every opportunity you have to give, there’s so much potential for it to go so much further than you realize. That’s true whether you donate financially. That’s true whether you donate a toy,” Hedrick told 10/11.

Staff at Community Action says the need for gifts for older kids is high this year. Things like new and unwrapped board games, Legos and books are what they’re looking for.

Gifts can be shipped to or dropped off at Community Action located at 210 O Street. Gifts are being accepted through December 18, 2020 to make sure kids get their gifts by Christmas.

You have until December 31, 2020 if you’d like to donate to the dollar for dollar match. You can donate by visiting HERE.

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