Five family-friendly virtual activities to #GiveTime over the holidays

For the past several years, U.S. Bank has partnered with nonprofit VolunteerMatch to encourage volunteerism on Giving Tuesday, which falls the week after Thanksgiving and in the wake of consumer-focused Black Friday. 

Although the act of volunteering is different this year amid COVID-19, the need is as high as ever. As the crisis unfolded, VolunteerMatch updated its national database of volunteer opportunities to surface those that can be done remotely. There are currently more than 717,000 such virtual openings available.

Those openings are an opportunity for families who are choosing to celebrate the holidays together while physically apart this year. Here’s a sampling of ideas: 

1. Send out holiday cards. This has been an especially challenging year for nonprofits and front-line healthcare workers. Share joy by sending greeting cards to your favorite local nonprofits, or contact a local hospital to ask if they are accepting hand-written cards thanking employees. 
2. Give your gift. Each member of your family likely has a unique skill set. From tech support to entrepreneurship mentoring, there are many ways to share your talent with others.
3. Open your ears with a full heart. The stress of the pandemic can negatively impact mental health. Sign up to help staff crisis text lines, many of which include training and require no previous expertise. 
4. Listen to Carols and Carls. Many older adults in nursing homes have experienced significant isolation this year. Ask a local nursing home if their residents would like someone to talk to over the phone.  
5. Get crafty. Turn your hobby into healing by crafting holiday decorations, or knitting scarves, hats and gloves for residents of shelters, nursing homes and hospice care centers.

Giving time is core to how we approach corporate social responsibility at U.S. Bank. To encourage and support efforts by our employees to do just that, we provide up to 16 hours of annual paid time off for volunteering.

Visit VolunteerMatch to explore more virtual volunteer ideas for you or your family.