If you had $300 to give to any charity this season, which one would you choose?

For the second year in a row, we asked RH Strategic staff this question. Each staff member then selected an organization of their choice to receive $300 provided by the firm. Together, we donated more than $11,000 to charitable causes at the local, national and international level. Each one of these organizations is meaningful to our staff, and many of them are directly serving our local communities. As a nationwide PR firm headquartered in Seattle and Washington, D.C., we organically selected organizations focused on serving populations in Washington state and our nation’s capital.

Below is a list of 36 worthy organizations to which we donated. In looking at the complete list, we found that the organizations tended to share certain missions and to work within several areas — from food insecurity to ending poverty, from funding groundbreaking research for fighting diseases to providing mental health services to those in crisis. We invite you to learn more about these organizations and give whatever you can — as individuals and as businesses — this holiday season.

Food Insecurity

  • Community Food Bank of New Jersey: This food bank fights hunger and poverty in New Jersey by assisting those in need and seeking long-term solutions. It also seeks to engage, educate and empower all sectors of society in the battle against hunger.
  • Feeding America: This organization envisions a future where no one ever goes hungry. It works in partnership with food banks, policymakers, supporters and communities to ensure equitable access to nutritious food.
  • Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank: This food bank brings together available resources for the benefit of the hungry and food insecure on Long Island. It helps families to achieve self-sufficiency and educates the general public about the causes and consequences of hunger.
  • Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner: Since 1979, this volunteer organization has provided senior citizens and the less fortunate in San Antonio with a place to enjoy a hot, nutritious turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day.
  • So Others Might Eat (SOME): An interfaith, community-based service organization that exists to help and support Washington, D.C., residents experiencing homelessness and poverty. It offers affordable housing, counseling, substance abuse disorder treatment, and job training.

Housing, Poverty and Sustainability

  • American GI Forum National Veterans Outreach Program: For almost 50 years, this program has been providing veterans, their families and other needy populations with the services necessary to achieve sustainable housing and meaningful careers.
  • The Carying Place: A nonprofit that serves working families with children who are experiencing homelessness by teaching life skills for attaining independent living while providing short-term housing and support services to address individual needs.
  • Hopelink: Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in Washington state’s King and Snohomish counties.
  • Low Income Housing Institute: This institute develops, owns and operates housing for the benefit of low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people in Washington state and administers a range of supportive service programs to assist those we serve in maintaining stable housing and increasing self-sufficiency.
  • Solid Ground: An organization that fights poverty and its root causes through community-centered programs, including rapid rehousing, transitional housing, transportation, legal assistance, health and nutrition support, and more.
  • Thrive DC: Since 1979, this organization has been working to prevent and end homelessness in Washington, DC by providing vulnerable people with a range of services, including regular meals, support finding housing and employment, and substance abuse treatment.
  • West Seattle Food Bank: This food bank works to end hunger and food insecurity in West Seattle. It also provides assistance to those struggling to meet basic needs, such as clothing, housing and utilities.
  • World Resource Institute: A global nonprofit that works with leaders in government, business and civil society to research, design and carry out practical solutions that simultaneously improve people’s lives and ensure nature can thrive.

Legal and Immigration

  • ACLU: The ACLU is a guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in the country.
  • Innocence Project: Founded in 1992, this organization exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and helps reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
  • World Relief Seattle: Since 1979, this organization has worked alongside communities in Western Washington to welcome refugees. It offers a variety of services, including help with resettlement, immigration legal services, employment programs and more.

Ending Violence

  • Bradley Angle: This nonprofit serves people affected by domestic violence by providing people experiencing or at risk of domestic violence with emergency services, housing, safety, education and empowerment.
  • Joyful Heart Foundation: Founded by Mariska Hargitay, this organization works to educate the public about and transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, with the goal of supporting survivors’ healing and ending this violence forever.

Education

  • BASIS Washington, D.C. Annual Teacher Fund: BASIS is a charter school in D.C. Every year, it organizes an Annual Teacher Fund to enable the school to recruit and retain the highest quality teachers through performance-based bonuses.
  • Girls on the Run Puget Sound: This educational organization inspires girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running.

Physical and Mental Health

  • The American Heart Association: For nearly 100 years, this association has been fighting heart disease and stroke by funding groundbreaking research and educating the public on the dangers of heart disease.
  • Bloodworks Northwest: This organization harnesses donor gifts to provide a safe, lifesaving blood supply to 95% of hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. Its mission is to save lives through research, innovation, education and excellence in blood, medical and laboratory services.
  • Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: This alliance is a leading organization focused on mood disorders. It provides hope, help, support and education to improve the lives of people who have mood disorders.
  • Hockey Fights Cancer: Founded in 1998 by the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, this organization unites the hockey community in support of cancer patients and their families. It inspires hope for those living with, going through, and moving past cancer.
  • The Jimmy Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: This children’s clinic is one of the world’s premier centers for research and treatment for pediatric cancers, and it provides compassionate outpatient care for patients and their families.
  • Live Hard Movement: Dedicated to the life and memory of Ian James Chavez, this organization provides light within the darkness of those affected by the depth of depression and suicide.
  • Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance: The leading organization in the world fighting ovarian cancer by funding necessary scientific research, advocating for additional education and federal funding, and offering support to patients and survivors.
  • Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: PanCAN was the first organization dedicated solely to fighting pancreatic cancer and now leads a nationwide movement to tackle the disease from all angles — from research to patient services, from advocacy to community building and support.
  • Project Onyx: This organization goal seeks to eliminate barriers that many people of color face by providing affordable and accessible health and fitness services, as well as mentorship for youth and future professionals.
  • Susan G. Komen: As the largest breast cancer organization in the U.S., Susan G. Komen is on a mission to save lives. It invests in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer in the future while meeting the immediate needs of its communities today.
  • Tidewell Foundation: As a not-for-profit, Tidewell Hospice provides high-quality care to all (regardless of their insurance or ability to pay). The foundation was created to help fundraise and support the operations of the hospice.
  • Tourette Association of America: Founded in 1972, this association works to raise awareness, advance research, and provide ongoing support to patients and families impacted by Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders.
  • The Trevor Project: The world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. It provides support, counseling and resources to those in need.

Our Furry Friends

  • Companion Bridge: This organization provides a loving and supportive community for people with companion animals, as well as online space to raise funds for people with special needs animals or animals requiring significant financial medical attention that would otherwise be euthanized.
  • Happy Heart Happy Home Farm and Rescue: This rescue organization provides second chances to animals of all species who have experienced neglect or abuse and need sanctuary.
  • Humane Rescue Alliance: This alliance is a national champion for all animals and has more than 150 years of experience protecting animals, supporting families and advocating for a world where animals can thrive.

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RH Strategic is a Seattle and D.C.-based PR agency with a nationwide presence and additional global reach via membership in the Worldcom Public Relations Group. We provide strategic public relations for innovators in the technology, government and healthcare markets.

Interested in joining our team? We’re growing, and we’re looking for experienced, energetic people to join us. Learn more at rhstrategic.com/careers