Giving in 2011: Here's how you can help Utahns in need

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Below is a list of giving opportunities submitted to The Salt Lake Tribune. To have your charity or event listed, email information to brooke@sltrib.com.

Warm Bodies, Warm Souls • Audiences attending the annual Jon Schmidt Christmas concerts, sponsored by Bank of Utah, at Kingsbury Hall on Dec. 16-17 are asked to donate new or gently used coats, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets and new children's underwear for clients at Crossroads Urban Center. Donations also may be donated at Bank of Utah locations from Ogden to Sandy until Dec. 16. For information about the concerts, call 801-581-7100 or visit online www.kingtix.com

2011 Toy Drive • Clinica Hispana and Hispanic Humanitarian Services are collecting nonperishable food, new toys and gently used clothing for families in need this holiday. Toys are needed for children up to age 12. Food items needed include cooking oil, flour, uncooked beans, bread, peanut butter, canned vegetables and gift cards. Donations may be dropped off until Dec. 13 at Clinica Hispana, 9355 S. 1300 East, Sandy, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or Saturdays from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. Volunteers are also needed to organize gift bags. For more information, contact Cesar Diaz, 801-548-1473.

Red Cross Holiday Giving Program • The American Red Cross's Utah Region is soliciting donations through the Holiday Giving Program Catalog, which lists items to provide help for disaster victims, vaccinations for at-risk children, holiday comfort kits for men and women serving in the military, and others types of humanitarian aid and emergency-planning education. To see giving opportunities, visit www.redcross.org/gifts.

Holiday Wish List Drive • Salt Lake County's Youth Services is sponsoring a "wish list" tree to benefit kids it serves. Residents are invited to come visit the tree in the atrium in the north building at the Salt Lake County Government Center, select an ornament and fill that child's wish list. Donations will be accepted through Dec. 21 at Mayor Peter Corroon's office, or Utah First banks. To see the wish lists, visit http://www.youth.slco.org/pdf/HolidayWishList2011.pdf

Candy Cane Corner • Donations are being accepted for the 17th annual Candy Cane Corner holiday store, where low-income individuals and families served by the YWCA, The Road Home and Volunteers of America, Utah select new holiday gifts for themselves and their families. Among items being accepted: clothing, shoes and boots, personal care items, blankets, household items, non-violent toys and games. Items should be new and unwrapped. Also needed are wrapping paper, ribbons, tape and cash to purchase needed items. Volunteers are needed to help set up the store, receive donations, stock shelves and wrap gifts. The Candy Cane Corner wish list is available online at www.candycanecornerslc.org. Items may be dropped off at 502 W. 300 South Monday through Friday between noon and 7 p.m. and weekends between noon and 5 p.m.

Utah AIDS Foundation Season's Giving's • Donate a Christmas/Chanukah food basket with enough food to provide a holiday meal for a family of four. The food can be placed in a decorated box reusable shopping bag, a wicker basket, laundry basket, or other container. Please do not include meat. Deliver baskets to the UAF, 1408 S. 1100 East in Salt Lake City, by Dec. 19. The UAF is also hosting a Red Ribbon Tree in which participants can "adopt" an individual or family in need of assistance. Donations of stockings filled with essential personal care items, such as dish soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper, are also needed.

Holiday Backpack Collection • The Homeless Youth Resource Center is collecting items to fill backpacks for homeless youth. The following items are needed: money, new backpacks, gift cards, bus tokens, hand warmers, hygiene items, headphones, lighters, beanies, gloves, ready-to-eat food, new men's socks and underwear, and sleeping bags. Contributions may be dropped off or mailed to Homeless Youth Resource Center, 655 S. State St., Salt Lake City, UT 84101; online at www.voaut.org; or at donation bins in the main floor lobby of The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Gateway Mall.

Utah Association for Intellectual Disabilities Holiday Gift Box program • Provides gifts for low income individuals with cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities. Stop by the Holiday Gift Box headquarters at 1482 S. Major St. and pick up an ornament to "adopt" someone for the holidays and help UAID reach its goal of assisting 1,000 people. Financial donations are also accepted and can be dropped off at the UAID office, sent thru the mail to P. O. Box 25304, SLC, UT 84125, or paid with your credit card via www.uaidutah.org. Call UAID at 801-654-8449 to hear about volunteer opportunities during the holiday season.

8,000 Teddy Bears • Bank of American Fork is sponsoring Project Teddy Bear, a stuffed-animal drive for at-risk children served by the Utah Valley Family Support & Treatment Center, the Salt Lake Valley Family Support Center and the House of Hope. Teddy bears are given to children during times of trauma and as an aid in play therapy sessions. The bank hopes to collect 8,000 stuffed animals this year. To donate, drop off a new or clean, gently used stuffed animal at any of the bank's 12 branches in Salt Lake and Utah counties through Dec. 14. For locations, visit www.bankaf.com

Christmas Wishes for Lincoln Elementary • Utah Central Credit Union is sponsoring Christmas gifts for 550 children at Salt Lake City's Lincoln Elementary, where 95 percent of children fall below the poverty line. Each child will receive at least two gifts. To participate, go to any branch office in the Greater Salt Lake Valley ­— Sandy, Salt Lake, West Jordan, West Valley, Herriman or Murray — and select handmade ornaments from the Christmas tree in the lobby and return listed gifts by Dec. 9. Most students ask for items that most take for granted — food, socks, a pillow or blanket. Gifts will be presented to the children during school on Dec. 16. For branch locations, go to www.utahcentral.com

Forgotten Patient Christmas Project • Help provide Christmas gifts for patients at the Utah State Hospital. Sponsors are given a name and information about a specific patient, allowing them to provide much needed items. If you are interested in taking a name or finding out more, please contact Shawna Peterson at 801-344-4254 or at speterson@utah.gov.

Winter Charity Drive • The Herriman Library is collecting cold weather clothing for refugee families from Burma, Bhutan, Somalia and Iraq. Needed are new hats, scarves, gloves and socks, especially for children. Donations may be dropped off at the library, 5380 W. Herriman Main Street, Herriman, through Dec. 12. Items will be distributed by the Refugee Resettlement Program of Catholic Community Services of Utah. For more information, contact the library at 801-944-7680.

Elderly Utahns • Elderly Utahns who live in nursing homes throughout Utah need a little holiday cheer, according to the Office of Public Guardian. Their needs are simple: sweats, hats, slippers, robes, shirts, pajamas and twin bedding items. The adults especially appreciate soft fleece blankets to keep the chill off their laps. Items are needed for men and women, in medium, large and extra-large sizes. Gift cards are also helpful. For more information, contact the office at 801-538-8255.

Christmas donations • The Lutheran Social Service of Utah Center is collecting Christmas donations for refugee, immigrant and low-income families. Donations may be dropped off at the center, 4392 S. 900 East, Cottonwood, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Money, gift cards, presents and toys for newborns to 18-year-olds, also new and gently used household items, from dishes, bedding to furniture, are needed. For more information contact Milka Vladic at 801-860-3099 or email Leslie Whited at lssutah@yahoo.com

Food fight • Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill are challenging each other for the "heavyweight food fighting champion" of Utah title by seeing who can collect the most donations for the Utah Food Bank by Dec. 8. The contenders get one point for every pound of food donated and two points for every donated dollar. Shurtleff is the defending champion. The donate to Shurtleff's corner: www.utahfoodbank.org/virtual-food?Team=1865. To donate to Gill's effort: www.utahfoodbank.org/virtual-food?Team=1886.

Holiday Gift Box • The Utah Association for Intellectual Disabilities hopes to provide holiday gifts for 1,000 Utahns this year but so far has only 230 people who've been adopted. Donors may pick ornaments listing an individual's needed items from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and evenings and weekends by appointment. The office is located at 1453 S. Major St., Salt Lake City. For more information, call 801-654-8449 or send financial contributions to P.O. Box 25304, Salt Lake City, UT 84125.

Fill the Shoe Box • Operation Christmas Child is collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts to send to needy children overseas. Shoeboxes filled with the following items are requested: school supplies, toys, hygiene items and notes of encouragement. Filled boxes may be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily or until 4 p.m. on weekends at Calvary Chapel of Salt Lake City, 460 W. Century Drive, Salt Lake City, or Hidden Valley Presbyterian Church, 12883 S. 1300 East, Draper, Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Visit www.samaritanspurse.org/occ for more information.

Warm the Soles • America First Credit Union kicked off its annual Warm the Soles campaign Nov. 2, which collects shoes for needy children. Donations may be made at any America First Credit Union branch.

Shoe Collection • Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing shoes to millions of people around the world, is working with Real Salt Lake, Comcast and Halogen TV to collect 20,000 new or gently used shoes in Salt Lake City for residents in need. Shoes will be collected at various sites throughout the city through Dec. 31.

Toys for Tots • Utah Stor-N-Lock businesses are teaming up with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to gather toys this holiday season for underprivileged children. Collection boxes will be displayed at local businesses until Dec. 15. New, unwrapped toys may be dropped off Monday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. To find stores, visit their website at www.stor-n-lock.com

Fourth Street Clinic • The clinic, which serves about 5,300 homeless Utahns, has kicked off its "Spreading Good Health" fundraising campaign, which ends Dec. 31. To donate, visit www.spreadinggoodhealthorg