If you are an individual or a family in need of help this holiday season, please call 2-1-1/Infoline (dial 2-1-1), a free, 24-hour information and referral number provided by United Way that connects people to information and services they need.

For a complete list of ways you, your office or your family can get involved this holiday season click here.

There are many ways to help people in your community this holiday season! Activities / drives / holiday cards/calendars and gifts / make a donation / volunteer / wish lists

If you are a community group or nonprofit who would like to be included in the Holiday Help section, please send information to: webmaster@uwgnh.org

• New Haven Tree Lighting Celeration and Block Party: Thursday, November 29 (raindate: Friday, November 30) 4pm-8pm Free Childrens Activities - Carousel rides, letter writing to the North Pole, animated "Alpine Safari". Additional activities include holiday crafts, hayrides and more. 5:30pm Tree Lighting Ceremony
• Hosted by Ronald McDonald and WTNH's Matt Scott featuring live performances by Unity Boys Choir, Cooperative Arts High School Choir, Yale Gospel Choir, the cast of New Haven Ballet's "The Nutcracker," Santa and other special guests. www.cityofnewhaven.com or www.infonewhaven.com for more information.
• Wreath Making and Holiday Gathering: Saturday, December 15, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM Common Ground, The New Haven Ecology Project, Inc., warm and festive celebration using renewable or recyclable materials! Activities are appropriate for children through adults and light refreshments will be provided. Weave a wreath or garland from fresh evergreen branches cut in Connecticut, decorate farm animal shaped cookies to make tasty treats, and save a tree by making your own wrapping paper using nature-themed stamps on recycled paper goods. All tools, instruction, and materials provided, no experience necessary! Tickets will be sold for each activity, admission is free.
• Unsilent Night, Composer Phil Kline's Boombox Symphony : Thursday, December 13, 5:30 p.m. Register in the Shubert Theater lobby; processional steps off promptly at 6:15 p.m. The 45-minute procession begins at the Shubert Theater and wends its way though downtown, across the Green, ending in the Audubon Arts District at Koffee on Audubon. Meet-and-greet with composer Phil Kline follows. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Fun for the whole family. All you need is a boombox (or borrow one of ours), or other portable music player with external speakers that can play cassette tapes, CDs or mp3's. No experience necessary. For more information and to reserve your musical part, please call us at 203.498.3727 by Tuesday, Dec. 11.
• 6th Annual Elisabeth von Trapp Holiday Concert and Dessert Reception to benefit Good News Garage, December 20, 7pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, New Haven. Von Trapp and cello accompanist Erich Kory will present ballads, Austrian, English and French carols as well as traditional holiday music.
• The 4th Annual "Home Sweet Home" Gingerbread House Contest:  Monday, December 3, 5:30—7:30pm at the CT Post Mall in Milford. A Gala Preview Party & Silent Auction to kick-off the Gingerbread House Contest to benefit the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut. Westfield Connecticut Post mall, Entrances #1 and #7.
• Ronald McDonald House 17th Annual Trees of Hope event at the Long Wharf Maritime Center in New Haven. A display of 75 beautifully decorated trees, Holiday Gift Boutique, Musical Entertainment and visits from Santa! Something for the whole family! December 1-9, 2007, open daily 10 AM - 5 PM, free Admission. Tree Raffle Tickets only $1.00! Winners take home a beautifully decorated tree on December 9.
• Take your family to see the holiday lighting displays of the 13th Annual Fantasy of Lights at Lighthouse Park in New Haven from November 17 through December 31 (open all holidays) . Recorded infoline: (203) 777-2000 ext. 603. Take a leisurely drive (in your own vehicle) through an enchanted fantasyland of enormous holiday light displays. Two new displays this year, and the Ice Tunnel has returned! Admission: car or family van $10; 15-passenger van or mini-bus $25; bus $50.
• Check out the Community Calendar for events and activities that support local nonprofits!
• Adopt-A-Family, Make a Difference! Sara Callahan of New Haven Home Recovery, is looking for businesses and individuals to participate in their annual Adopt-a-Family Program. The program provides homeless or formerly homeless families with holiday gifts. Through donations, NHHR was able to help more than 100 families and individuals last year. There are 83 families and individuals who need to be adopted this year. For information, call 203-492-4866 x 12.
• New Haven Free Public Library offers a free workshop on how to Outwit Holiday Overeating & Overspending: December 5, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Optimal Health Coach Wendy Battles (www.healthy-endeavors.com) and Debra Cronin, CMFC for Waddell & Reed in Hamden, at Main Library. Register at www.guidezilla.com/nhfpl or call 946-8835.
• Having holiday party? Why not use Fellowship Place's catering business, Arts & Eats Catering. Arts & Eats Catering provides customers with a wide selection of delicious and beautifully arranged foods for any social occasion at a reasonable cost. Arts & Eats Catering also serves as a food service training program to help individuals get skills in the food service industry and earn an income at the same time. Please call Sandi Sibilio at 203-401-4227, Ext. 117 for a sample menu and more information.

• North Haven Volunteer Firefighters Toy Drive The North Haven Volunteer Firefighters will once again hold a toy drive to benefit the Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital Toy Closet. This year's event will be held on Saturdays and Sundays on December 1, 2, 8, and 9. Uniformed firefighters will be stationed at Sports Authority, 180 Universal Drive North; Stop and Shop, 79 Washington Ave. and Big Y, 345 Washington Ave. on the above listed dates, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A new unwrapped toy may also be dropped off at any fire station in the Town of North Haven. Last year, the Toy Drive donated over 1,200 new toys as well as a $1,500.00 donation. Please support our efforts as we attempt to brighten the lives of children. Questions can be addressed to John McFarland at (203) 627-3753; Angel Sanjuro at (203) 996-3845; or North Haven Fire Headquarters at (203) 239-5321, x725.
• The Christmas Sponsorship Program run by Guilford Social Services is seeking groups or organizations who wish to donate gifts to help fulfill the Christmas requests of needy Guilford families. Contact Kim Ragnow of The Guilford Newcomers Club at (203) 533-5130 if you are able to help.
• The Connectcut Hospice, Inc. collects turkey's, hams and non-perishable food items for their patients and families. This will be both for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. They also have wish lists from the nursing staff for holiday gifts for their home care patients and families. If you have anyone that might be interested in any of the above, please have them call Patricia A. Corradino, Director of Volunteer Service at (203)315-7510.
• Casa Otonal, a community service provide predominantly to Hispanic populations seeks toys, games, books for their Annual Three Kings Day celebration on January 6th. They anticipate serving 400-500 children between the ages of 0-13. Gifts for children ages 10-13 are especially needed. Contact Eneida Arroyo, 773-1847 x23 or Millie Torres, at x 22.
• Rimage's annual food drive to benefit Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen has started! We are collecting canned goods and non-perishable food items to be distributed during the holiday season. Anyone bringing an item for drop off receives 10% off any purchases made at Rimage Salon & Spa, 1210 Chapel St., New Haven, through December 20. For more information contact Len Yanavich, Rimagesalon@sbcglobal.net or 562-4247.
• Harbor Health ServicesThanksgiving Food Drive Branford based non-profit organization providing a comprehensive range of case management, residential, social and vocational services to adults with serious and persistent mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Each Thanksgiving HHS provides a holiday meal to more than 200 clients and their families, serving turkey, stuffing and all the fixin's. They are looking for donations of stuffing, gravy, cranberries, vegetables, and desserts. There may also be a limited number of volunteer opportunities for interested employees to help prepare or serve the holiday meal. Contact Emily Granelli 483-2667x240
• This Holiday Season, Columbus House will embark on the 2nd Annual Homeless for the Holidays Campaign. They encourage you to donate items for or hold your won Winter Apparel Drive. As the frigid weather approaches, they are in desperate need of new hats, gloves, underwear, socks, scarves and boots in addition to new or slightly used winter coats and sweaters.
• Splash Car Wash Holiday Charity Gift Card Sale: Columbus House will be the recipient of the sale. The Gift Cards can be used to purchases washes, detail services and store items. Splash will donate up to 15% of all gift cards sold on-line and 5% of all cards purchased at their New Haven Express Wash location. Cards are valid at any participating Splash location. On-line purchases can be made now through December 24th and in-store purchases can be made beginning November 12th through December 24th. Click here to purchase on-line.
• Participate in a toy drive through the Marine's Annual Toys for Tots drive.
• The Visiting Nurse Association, as part of their Holiday Gift Program, provides gifts of children toys, blankets, flannel nightgowns (large and XL) and non-skid slippers (med and large), men's flannel shirts (large and XL) to someoof their clients. If you can help, please email Kitty Champlin.
• United Way and NBC 30 are partnering in the Joy of Sharing Toy Drive. You will be able to drop off a new, unwrapped toy at the NBC 30 live broadcast from locations to be announced. Toy drive begins in November.
• Warm Coats for Winter Coat Drive! Please call Susan Lakin at (860)493-6821 for more information.

• Get into the Holiday Spirit: Become a Fresh Air Host Family This November, many families in the North Haven area are thankful for something special: the gift of their friendship with the New York City child. Through the Fresh Air Fund's Friendly Town program, local families open their hearts and homes to inner-city children as volunteer hosts for two weeks during the summer. By volunteering as a host family in the summer of 2008, the spirit of Thanksgiving can continue throughout the year. One child recounts the activities he tried in Friendly Town during his visit in 2007. "We went hiking, swimming and rode horses. I wish I could spend the whole summer there because I never got bored." Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy Free Air Fund programs annually. In 2007, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. Additionally, 3,00 children attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300 acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund's year-round camping program serves 2,000 young people each year. For more information hosting a fresh Air child next summer, please contact Christopher Dorman at 212-897-8962 or the Fresh Air Fund at (800) 367-0003. You can also visit The Fund's Website at www.freshair.org.
• Volunteers needed for Project Homeless Connect Wednesday, December 12, 10am-3 pm, 592 Ella Grasso Blvd., New Haven. By participating, you will be assisting in raising awareness of the services and resources available in the community and extending the opportunity for the homeless to connect with these services. The mission of Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is to bring communities together to create and promote tangible solutions that remedy the homelessness of their neighbors. PHC is a national initiative sponsored by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, now implemented in 106 cities across the US and Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia.
• Give of your time... volunteer! There are lots of opportunities to help build a strong community available on United Way's Volunteer Link during the holidays and throughout the year.
• Become a mentor.

• Fellowship Place is selling “ArtShip” Calendars to raise money to support the artist co-op at Fellowship Place . The calendars are the size of a CD and sit in a CD case which serves as a stand for the calendar. The calendars are $10 each. For more info, call Sue Spight at 203-401-4227.
• The Tommy Fund uses holiday cards designed by pediatric patients at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital to raise funds for projects that offer much-needed support to patients and their families.
• Order your holiday cards from the Connecticut Food Bank and help local food banks at the same time!

• Reach Out: The Yale College Partnership for International Service will host an ALTERNATIVE GIFT MARKET Dwight Chapel/Dwight Hall, New Haven - Date to be announced. ALSO-Cornerstone client artists and artisans are preparing items for the Alternative Gift Market. This is the major event sponsored by the Campus Outreach Committee. Shoppers browse through display booths, each of which represents a different area of the world featuring information about both local and international projects. Read more: Reach Out!

• Town of Branford Office of Social Services is holding The Holiday Basket Share Program, which takes place every year and will take place on Wed., Dec. 19th. The program has two components for which a donor can choose to participate in one or both; it is the donor's choice. The two components are Holiday Dinner Basket/Grocery Store Gift Card and/or children's gifts. The donor may choose to participate by donating a holiday Dinner Basket to a family, while another donor may choose to participate by donating gifts for the children. A donor may choose to do both the basket and the gift. It is the donor's choice. Those donors choosing a Holiday Dinner Basket only will express that choice and the family size they would like to adopt. Those donor's choosing gifts only will express that choice and the number of children they have interest in adopting. For those seeking assistance, please contact this office with your needs for a Holiday Dinner Basket and/or gifts. All donors and recipients will receive written confirmation. All items, baskets and gifts need to be dropped off and picked up by the participants as that we are unable to pick-up or deliver.
• Donate Hats, Gloves and Scarves to the Less Fortunate Please join us through mid-December in donating hats, gloves and scarves for all ages. Your donations will go to help warm those whom are homeless or less fortunate this winter. Please drop off your donations to the office of Dr.'s D'Andrea, Pantera, and Michael, located at 2675 Whiteney Avenue in Hamden.
• The American Legion Post 76 North Haven The Holiday Season is upon us again and we ask for your help, so we can give out gift cards to those who are in need so they can have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. We have been doing this for a number of years and this year is no different, other than money is a lot more difficult to come by. So please, if you can help, please send what ever you can to help others to the American Legion Post 76, P O box 366, North Haven, CT 06473.
• Make an investment in your community! It's a gift that keeps giving to the community the whole year through.

• Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut, Inc. is seeking a company or organization that might help with their Thanksgiving/Christmas meal donations. They provide the finishings for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings for their clients/patients.
• New Haven Home Recovery
  • Toiletries
  • Shampoo / Conditioner
  • Soap
  • Toothpaste
  • Tootbrushes
  • Feminine Hygiene Products
  • Deodorant
  • Games & Puzzles
  • Linens
  • New Pillows
  • Bed Linens
  • Blankets
  • Receiving Blankets
  • New Bath Towels
  • New Wash Cloths
  Please call 203-492-4866 ext 10 for drop off location or if you or your organization would like to do a drive please contact Sara Hammerbacher @ 203-492-4866 ext 12 or shammerbacher@nhhr.org.
• West Haven Community House wish list:
  • new art & craft supplies for weekly craft club for adults with mental retardation (25 adults/tempera paint, fabric paint, paint brushes, felt, elmer's glue, tacky glue, foam shapes, L-XXXL plain t-shirts, various size clay pots, holiday themed art supplies (ribbon, foam/wooden shapes, stencils, etc.)
  • Supplies for after school tutoring center for elementary school children (5 sites of 20-30 children/pencils, dictionaries, erasers, calculators, colored pencils)
  • Barbecue grill for group home for adults with mental retardation (6 adults)
  • Large screen TV for day activity program for adults with mental retardation (9 adults)
  • Board Games for adults with developmental disabilities (Pictionary, Go Fish/Old Maid/Memory, Connect Four, Toss Across)
• Youth Continuum: Please consider a donation to help us make this season special for the youth in our care. Contact us at 203-562-3396, or visit us at www.youthcontinuum.org Gift cards are a great way to give and allow our kids to purchase the supplies they need, such as clothing, food, books, and household items. Suggestions include:
  • Stop & Shop
  • Shop Rite
  • Wal-Mart
  • Target
  • Old Navy
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Best Buy
  • Westfield Shopping Malls
  Other items needed include:
• School supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, calculators, etc.)
• Personal hygiene products (shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.)
• Bedding (twin sheet sets, pillows, blankets, etc.)