In the spirit of gratitude and amidst all the consumerism that we are all likely to be a part of, it is a welcome reprieve to have Giving Tuesday thrown in there. For those of you who are not familiar with Giving Tuesday, it was started in 2012 as a response to consumerism and the commercialization of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is an international day of charitable giving and is a way to really embody the season of giving that seems to be forgotten at times amidst the racket of Christmas.

To make donating easy for everyone this year I compiled a list of Tahoe and Truckee nonprofits that directly impact the Tahoe Truckee community.

Sierra Community House

Formerly 4 different nonprofits, Tahoe SAFE Alliance, Family Resource Center of Truckee, North Tahoe Family Resource Center, and Project MANA have joined forces and merged to become Sierra Community House.The merge gives better access to more services for those in need. The provide hunger relief, domestic violence and crisis intervention, legal counseling, immigration aid and family strengthening programs.

One program that I personally have participated in with my children and loved is the “Family Room” at Truckee Elementary School. It is a free drop-in preschool-like experience for children 3 and under. They sing songs during circle time in Spanish and English, have play time, and often a craft. It is a great activity for young kids no matter what demographic you are in. The merging of the 4 non-profits into 1 will impact so many people on so many levels in the North Tahoe/Truckee communities. Donate to Sierra Community House

Kidzone Children’s Museum

Truckee Tahoe kids are so fortunate to have such an amazing resource as the Kidzone Children’s Museum. Play is often an overlooked imporant developmental building block. Kidzone nurtures children’s imagination and desire to learn through all sorts of play, science, and art based activities. They also provide scholarships for underprivileged families which has turned Kidzone into a sanctuary and escape for many of those. On many winter days the Kidzone has to turn people away because they are at maximum capacity! Your donation helps run the day-to-day, fund scholarships, and fund-raise for the expansion of the Kidzone into a larger space which will enable them to serve even more families. Donate to the Kidzone Children’s Museum

Truckee Roundhouse Makerspace

The Roundhouse is such a unique space for a town the size of Truckee to have within its borders. An astounding idea come to life; you can attribute its’ existence to the remarkable array of talented people we are surrounded by in our little mountain town. To have this asset at our disposal is a gift to our community. The “makerspace” is a community operated shop that is available for use through membership, has volunteers on hand to help people learn new skills and also offers community classes. They have multiple shops in the space; wood, metal, ceramics, textiles, and technology. Each shop has both a basic set of tools one might expect in such a facility, as well as some specialty machines that make the Roundhouse unique, such as a CNC plasma cuter.

Arts For the Schools

Educational funding in California for the arts has been on a decline since 1978’s Prop 13 which drastically reduced funding in schools statewide. Arts for the Schools fills the gaps in arts education in regional schools and provides access to arts education in rural schools. They support our the arts in our community through 4 different facets: Performing Arts and Visual Arts programs for students, cultural performing arts concerts open to the public, and free training for teachers to integrate arts into the curriculum. Your donation goes to supports all of these. Donate to Arts For The Schools

Mountain Area Preservation (MAP)

An Environmental Land Use Advocacy group, MAP’s mission is to “preserve the Truckee-Tahoe region’s mountain character and natural environment for present and future generations.” Founded in 1987 by local citizens concerned that the Truckee lifestyle and small mountain town feel were being threatened by external influences with development proposals that blocked access to open space. Your donation helps keep open spaces open and accessible to all. Donate to MAP

Truckee River Watershed Council

Erosion, sedimentation, and pollution combined with little oversight over a long period of time have contributed to the EPA deeming the Truckee River as polluted.

The Truckee Watershed Council’s work focuses on different impacts of the watershed ranging from very site-specific work to encouraging homeowners to reduce the runoff from their land. A watershed is basically an area in which all precipitation in that area drains to the same place. Meadows, forests, creeks and streams all play a role, as do areas that have been disrupted by human occupancy and use. The Truckee Watershed Council identifies areas to be rehabilitated, studies the biology, geology, and hyrdology, manages the agencies, contractors & volunteers to oversee the rehabilitation. They also raise awareness of the impacts on the watershed to locals and visitors. They operate through fundraising and grants. Your donation directly supports their work. Donate to the Truckee River Watershed Council

Sierra Avalanche Center

The Sierra Avalanche Center forecasts avalanche conditions and help to create a community that is more well-educated on avalanche safety. They evaluate the snowpack and avalanche conditions daily and they are an important resource for those traveling in the backcountry. They also offer scholarships for avalanche safety courses. Donations directly support the avalanche forecasting program. Donate to the Sierra Avalanche Center

Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue

TNSAR has located hundreds of individuals lost in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada since the creation of the team in 1976. They are based out of the Tahoe Truckee area and are comprised of EMT’s, emergency room doctors and nurses, firefighters, professional ski patrollers, paramedics, and MD’s. There are also committees that handle training, dispatch, education, equipment upkeep, bookkeeping, and the organization of The Great Ski Race® (the main fund raising event for the Team). They operate self-sufficiently as well as in conjunction with Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, Washoe, Douglas, and Toulumne Sheriff departs, WOOF and CARDA search dogs, OES, American Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol, Naval Air SAR, and the California Highway Patrol. Their second is public education on being Winter Aware. Their operation is mostly dependent on donations, other

than the funds raised through the Great Ski Race. Donate to the TNSAR

High 5’s

on the list just because they are so well known at this point in time and need less help with local recognition, which is awesome.High 5’s mission is to prevent life-changing injuries from happening in the first place by educating young athletes and fostering good on-hill decision making. They also provide support and resources for athletes who are suffering from life-changing injuries. Donate to High 5’s

8 Tahoe Truckee Nonprofits To Donate To This Season of Giving