20 ideas for meaningful and impactful giving this holiday season

Fostering involves caring for a shelter pet until a permanent owner can be found or an unwell animal is healthy enough to return to a shelter. Fostering arrangements can last a few days to many months.

In addition to helping animals feel loved, pet fostering also decreases the burden on volunteers and crowded animal shelters.

You can use the ASPCA's Find a Shelter tool to locate an animal shelter near you.

If you don't have the ability to care for a creature in your home, symbolically adopting a species can help you protect wild animals and their habitats.

The World Wildlife Fund offers "adoption kits" for many endangered species, from pandas to bumblebees. Kits include an adoption certificate, a plush toy, and other themed items. You can also opt for a virtual adoption, which doesn't include any physical goods.

More than 80% of the proceeds are directed toward global conservation activities.

Gifting an annual membership to a national park is a great way to support conservation efforts and provide year-round fun to someone you love.

The National Park Service offers a range of annual passes. The standard annual pass is $80 and provides unlimited daily access to more than 2,000 parks, refuges, forests, and seasides across America.

Seniors 62 years and older qualify for a $20 annual pass or an $80 lifetime pass.

A community garden is a shared space that allows members to grow plants for food and fun.

Volunteering at a garden can help support communities by beautifying neighborhoods, stimulating social interaction, and providing healthy food to members.

If there aren't any community gardens in your area, you can try starting one. Get in touch with your town hall or local council for guidance or contact the American Community Gardening Association for help getting started.

Rather than cooking a holiday meal using produce and meat from a chain supermarket, support local farmers by sourcing ingredients for your feast from nearby growers.

You can use the USDA National Farmers Market Directory to find local markets.

If you'd rather support regional farmers all year long, consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program where you can pay to be sent locally grown products during harvest seasons.

If you're looking for a way to turn your holiday shopping list into a force for social good, consider buying from local and indigenous artisans.

Buying from indigenous makers and local craftspeople supports small businesses and the survival of traditional crafting knowledge.

You can use the First Peoples Fund online search tool to find Native artists working near you.

Channel your creative energy into painting a beautiful public mural to help decorate an urban space.

Platforms like Beautify connect artists with businesses and towns that are interested in creating a mural in their community.

You can also work directly with local businesses and property owners to create a mural.

Hospitals, daycare centers, women's shelters, homeless shelters, and police and fire stations are often in need of blankets.

Fortunately, groups such as Project Linus and Binky Patrol accept donations of handmade blankets and deliver them to organizations in need.

Animal shelters are also often appreciative of handmade blankets. For example, Comfort for Critters is a volunteer program that distributes them to pet shelters around the US.

Many organizations are accepting donations of homemade cloth face masks to help protect employees, volunteers, and individuals in need.

According to the CDC, handmade masks should include multiple layers of fabric and completely cover the nose and mouth. They should also be able to be laundered without damage and fit snugly against the face without restricting breathing.

Research local hospitals and groups in need of DIY masks in your area, or drop off your handmade masks at a Red Cross chapter.

Handmade cards are an easy expression of kindness that can make a difference in someone's life, and there are plenty of ways to send them to others.

You can donate your homemade cards to organizations that distribute cards to children in hospitals, military members, elderly individuals, and people in hospice care. It may also be possible to deliver your cards to a local hospital, care home, or shelter — just be sure to call ahead to see if there are any guidelines to follow.

Learn new skills and help families achieve affordable housing by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

The organization builds and repairs homes for people in need. Volunteers can donate their time and help out on build sites, or donate money to help fund projects.

If you're not comfortable swinging a hammer, Habitat for Humanity also offers volunteer positions at its ReStore home-improvement stores and donation centers.

Picking up groceries for someone who isn't comfortable heading to the store themselves can be an easy act of holiday kindness.

Elderly people, medically vulnerable people, and parents of young children may really appreciate having their groceries brought to their home, especially in areas where paid grocery delivery isn't available or affordable.

Putting together care packages can help the many individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness.

These kits can include things like sunscreen, tissues, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lip balm, hand sanitizer, first-aid supplies, period products, socks, and shelf-stable snacks like dried fruit and peanut butter.

Contact your local homeless shelter to find out about donating in your area. If you'd rather give cash, groups like the Homeless Backpack Network use donations to provide people who are experiencing homelessness with supplies.

Locks of Love and Wigs for Kids use donations to create hairpieces for recipients experiencing medical conditions or injuries that cause hair loss. Recipients often include people with alopecia, cancer, genetic conditions, or severe burns.

Just keep in mind that hair must typically be a certain length (usually 10 to 12 inches), unbleached, and clean.

Modern libraries are much more than book repositories. Many offer tutoring programs for children and adults looking to learn new skills or excel academically.

Check with your local library branch to see if they have educational programs that are accepting volunteers.

You may also be able to help by donating useful classroom items such as notebooks, markers, scientific calculators, or art supplies.

Volunteering virtually is a great way to get involved without leaving home.

Virtual volunteers are needed for tasks like transcribing museum documents, mapping remote or rural areas, and mentoring individuals around the world.

Check out a range of remote volunteering opportunities on VolunteerMatch or take a look at Points of Light's curated list of ongoing remote volunteer missions.

Become a local hero by training to be a volunteer firefighter or emergency medical technician (EMT).

Volunteers typically don't need any prior emergency-service experience, though trainees may need to meet minimum age requirements, pass background checks, and have a certain level of physical fitness.

Check the National Volunteer Fire Council for more information about becoming a volunteer firefighter or EMT. You can also contact your fire department about requirements and local training programs.

Giving blood is a simple and almost painless way to make a difference during the holiday season and beyond.

According to the American Red Cross, the red blood cells in donated blood must be used within 42 days and the platelets are viable for just five days, which means a constant supply of new donations is vital.

Although the guidelines to be a donor vary by location, in some states healthy individuals as young as 16 can donate with consent from a guardian.

You can use the American Red Cross website to find a blood drive or blood bank near you.

Some conditions, such as leukemia, interfere with a person's ability to produce healthy blood cells. For these people, a bone-marrow transplant may be the only treatment option.

It can also be really difficult for individuals in need to find a match. And unlike blood donation, bone-marrow donation is a surgical procedure.

Visit Be The Match for more information about the process and the National Marrow Donor Program.

Giving back doesn't need to be complicated. You can help drive change and support causes you care about through a simple monetary donation to a charity or organization of your choice.

If you need help discovering a cause that resonates with you, try Charity Navigator, a searchable directory of more than 160,000 regional and international charities.

• Read More:
• 5 things you should know before donating your hair to charity
• 16 restaurants that hire from marginalized communities
• Everything you need to know about donating blood before you do it