Guide to giving: Nonprofit organizations doing great work year-round in Queens

Image source: Sunset Parkerpix on Flickr – food donations to Rockaways residents after Hurricane Sandy

With Thanksgiving and the end of the year coming up, most of us have a lot to be thankful for. Although Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on neighborhoods and transportation systems, it also made us more grateful for what we do have. During the past two weeks, many Queens residents donated supplies, money, and time to help out those devastated by the superstorm. Emergency workers, elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and other groups have been working hard to get people back on their feet.

Now, as “giving season” approaches, let’s not forget the great organizations that work hard year-round to promote equal rights, environmental sustainability, arts education, economic development, and more in Queens. If you’re looking for a local nonprofit organization to donate to in the next couple of months, consider this your guide.

Image source: nycstreets on Flickr

The culture of Queens is defined by its immigrants, and many different local organizations strive to empower people as they make a new home for themselves. Based in Jackson Heights, New Immigrant Community Empowerment advocates for immigrants’ and workers’ rights in general, while several other organizations work with specific populations: Minkwon Center for Community Action and the Women In Need Center in Flushing work with Korean Americans; Filipino American Human Services in Jamaica provides services to Filipino Americans; Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside supports Irish Americans; the Rajkumari Cultural Center in Richmond Hill is aimed at those of Indo-Caribbean descent; and a few groups—Desis Rising Up and Moving and Chhaya CDC in Jackson Heights, and South Asian Youth Action in Elmhurst—are focused on South Asian populations.

Queens is diverse in other ways, and we also have programs that support and serve the LGBT community. Queens Pride House in Jackson Heights offers mental health counseling, health information, youth groups, transgender support groups, Spanish-language support groups, and social events for LGBT folks in the area.

Other groups that help empower specific populations in Queens include Hour Children (in Long Island City), which works with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their families; Venture House (in Jamaica), which provides services to adults with mental illnesses; the East River Development Alliance (in Long Island City), which aids public housing residents on the path toward economic mobility and self-sufficiency; and Safe Space (in Jamaica), which aims to keep children safe in the face of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and other family issues.

Image source: nycstreets on Flickr

If you’re passionate about the environment—or have been thinking more about climate change since Sandy—one good resource for finding local projects to support is ioby, a website that helps eco-conscious programs raise funds. There are plenty of ioby projects that need funding in Queens related to biking, school gardens, park space, and more. You could also consider donating to the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, which aims to revitalize the Rockaway waterfront area, and has pitched in significantly since the hurricane; or to Green Shores NYC, an organization that takes care of the waterfront of Western Queens, including cleanup after Sandy; or to another group that promotes environmental awareness and outdoor recreation, such as the Queens Botanical Garden, the LIC Community Boathouse or the Alley Pond Environmental Center.

Maybe you want to support the arts and promote more creative inspiration in the borough. There are always museums, like the Queens Museum of Art, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the Noguchi Museum, plus Socrates Sculpture Park, all of which have education programs. Then there are smaller arts nonprofits such as Topaz Arts in Woodside, EarSay and Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Flux Factory and Long Island City Artists in LIC, the Astoria Music Society, the Astoria Performing Arts Center, the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts, and the Queens Council on the Arts, organizations that do their part to bring fresh art and entertainment to Queens.

Image source: nycstreets on Flickr

If you’re still not sure which cause you want to focus on and just want to help out in general, consider donating to the Queens Library Foundation. The impressive public library system provides free books, internet access, information, and educational programming to every single neighborhood in Queens—even in the post-Sandy Rockaways. Another organization that seemingly does it all is the Queens Community House. It offers programming all over the borough for everyone from LGBT seniors to college-bound students to families in danger of being evicted. Jacob A. Riis Settlement House does similar work in Western Queens, with services for youth, seniors, and immigrants.

So, if you’re able to donate a lot or a little this year, we hope you find this guide useful. We’re proud of the work that all of these nonprofit organizations do to constantly improve Queens, and we hope you identify something you’re excited about supporting during this giving season and beyond.