5 Medford Nonprofits To Support This Holiday Season

MEDFORD, MA — If you’re like many of your Medford neighbors, you may spend a good part of the holiday season with your credit card in hand buying gifts for family and friends. Coming up soon is a chance to give back to the local community.

Giving Tuesday, which in 2024 falls on Dec. 3, is a day dedicated to supporting nonprofit and community groups. Since 2012, nonprofits worldwide have used the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to galvanize fundraising, rally volunteers and add momentum to their causes.
Maintaining funding is a constant challenge for many nonprofits that fill gaps and meet other needs in the Medford area.

Here are five local nonprofits to consider getting behind on Giving Tuesday:

1. Walnut Street Center: The Mystic Avenue-based Walnut Street Center was first founded more than 50 years ago with the goal of enriching the lives of adults with intellectual challenges. Programs and in-home residential assistance is offered.
2. Medford Youth Center at Mystic Valley YMCA: Children ages 5 through 13 can enroll in this childcare program that focuses on STEAM, literacy, and social and emotional development.
3. Medford Family Network: Organized by Medford Public Schools, the Medford Family Network is free to any family who lives or works in the city with a child ages 8 or younger. The group conducts parenting education workshops, city-wide family activities, library book lending, and more.
4. Hearts of Life Food Pantry: Hearts of Life was founded in 2009 by Vida Real Internacional Pastor Luis Morales, and now has 100 volunteers whose efforts have been felt on an international level.
5. Resources for Human Development: RHD has carried out more than 115 service programs throughout the nation since it was founded in 1970. Its Medford location can be found on 70 Colby St. on the campus of Tufts University.