Charity begins at home, as the saying goes, and that’s why your support on Giving Tuesday is crucial. While national and international charitable organizations can make a difference across the country and around the world, your donation dollars can go further when you keep them local. Smaller not-for-profits in our own community use your support to make a measurable difference right in our neighborhoods. This list includes some of our favorites that our sister publication covers regularly because of their sincere desire to make our corner of the world a better place.
Canine Companions, Long Island Chapter: It is difficult for one’s heart not to melt when we see Canine Companions’ service puppies in training around the South Shore Long Island neighborhoods. While part of a national organization, their Long Island chapter is robust and integrated within our local community. Their ongoing efforts to applaud the achievements of our neighborhood hero veterans further enrich this ongoing mission. Visit canine.org to learn more.
Live Like Jeyson Foundation: Jeyson Reyes had an open heart and a kind, beautiful mind, but all he had to offer the world was taken away too soon at 16. However, his spirit lives on through the Live Like Jeyson Foundation, which became an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization this year. The foundation’s mission is twofold. First, it includes a scholarship fund at Sayville High School, where Reyes attended. This scholarship is not for high athletic or academic achievement but for students facing life challenges who are still college-bound and could make a difference with the skills their experiences have given them. It also continues to live by the motto: “Random acts of kindness, helping everyday people in need.” If someone is short on cash at checkout, one of his ‘angels’ might step in to help out. You never know where they are! Visit livelikejeyson.org.
NY Marine Rescue Center: Cold-stunned sea turtles, whales or porpoises in distress, and wounded seals on the beach are all familiar sights to coastal residents. The NY Marine Rescue Center has served as the main resource on South Shore Long Island, providing first responders for marine life in crisis. By keeping their hotline open (631-369-9829), bystanders can directly request help when an aquatic animal is in trouble. They send rescue teams when needed and, if necessary, rehabilitate the animals and return them to their natural environment whenever possible. Visit nymarinerescue.org.
Operation SPLASH: Operation SPLASH stands for “Stop Polluting, Littering, and Save Harbors,” and that’s precisely what they do. Based in Freeport and Lindenhurst, their initiative includes raising public awareness and not being afraid to get their hands a little dirty by venturing out in converted clam boats to haul away dumped refuse in our local waterways, keeping them scenic and pristine. Visit operationsplash.org to learn more.
Save the Great South Bay: The name says it all. This publication has watched as this organization has grown from its founding, with good intentions to address the declining health of the Great South Bay, into a powerhouse that manages cleanups in local tributaries, advocates for bay-friendly garden plantings, upgrading Long Island’s aging septic systems, and their work with the Great South Bay Oyster Project to restore the damaged habitat where our region gained its strength and wealth. Visit savethegreatsouthbay.org.
Seatuck Environmental Association: Seatuck is a local organization that works on a larger scale by advocating for environmentally sound legislation in New York State and beyond. Seatuck has kept the momentum going on issues like terrapin excluder devices to conserve and restore populations of North America’s only native turtle that lives in brackish water, and a bill currently on Gov. Hochul’s desk to save the horseshoe crab population before it’s too late. They also serve as a public education forum, helping Long Islanders develop a more nuanced understanding of the coyote population living among us. Seatuck is also a partner with Save the Great South Bay in the Great South Bay Oyster project, for respectable organizations understand that more can be accomplished when working together, rather than in competition. Learn more at seatuck.org.
