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 remind us what the season is all about. 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 we've compiled a list of some of our favorite and most impactful Tahoe and Truckee nonprofits.
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
Tahoe Ability Program
The Tahoe Ability Program is dedicated to fostering community inclusion, promoting independence, and supporting the growth of individuals with developmental disabilities. Their mission is to empower participants to achieve their personal goals while building meaningful connections within the community. By prioritizing time spent engaging with local residents and organizations, they enhance opportunities for networking and relationship-building, reinforcing their deep integration as an active part of the community. Following a Person-Centered Planning approach, they ensuring that each participant has full control over their chosen curriculum, programs, and activities and tailor their support to meet each participant's unique needs. Their programs are centered on socialization skills, health and wellness, social recreation, community integration, literacy and higher education, self-advocacy, and independent living. This exceptional organization meets the needs of an under-served population in the Tahoe Truckee community.
Donate to Tahoe Ability Program
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 and important 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 Community Roundhouse
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.
Donate to the Truckee Community Roundhouse
Fox Cultural Hall (Formerly Known as 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, which had been operating for 40 years, changed its name to Fox Cultural Center in 2023 and coincidentally acquired a 325 person capacity performance space. The group continues to fill the gaps in arts education in regional schools and provides access to arts education in rural schools. With the acquisition of the performance center, located in King's Beach, they have expanded their programs and offerings which include artistic performances, classes, workshops, clubs and arts programming for local communities and 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.
Truckee Watershed Council
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.
Truckee 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.
High 5’s Foundation
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.
The Tahoe Truckee area is a special place to many. Whether you live here or a frequent visitor consider donating to some of the astounding non-profits that serve the extraordinary community that are the backbone of the region.
