One of my favorite ways to boost myself is to help others. It's so true that in helping others, we often help ourselves.
These are some of my favorite nonprofit organizations to support and promote.
NAMI works to educate, advocate, listen, and lead to improve the lives of people with mental illness and their loved ones. They offer education classes, support groups, and a HelpLine by phone and text. Their website is an amazing resource with information on mental health conditions and how to navigate a mental health crisis or emergency. There are more than 600 NAMI affiliates offering local services.
All Out Caring Inc. (ACTS) Thrift Store is my go-to for donating clothing and household goods in the Los Angeles area. When I donate on behalf of one of their nonprofit partners, those NPOs receive vouchers for their clients to shop at the store. So even if my specific goods may not be useful to the groups I want to help, my donations afford them the opportunity to get things they do want and need. I like to donate on behalf of Hillsides and Union Station Homeless Services.
The Representation Project is a leading global non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring all humans achieve their full potential, unencumbered by limiting gender norms. They use documentary films, education, and activism to shift the public’s attitudes and behavior around gender in order to transform culture.
The Representation Project's current films include: Miss Representation, The Mask You Live In, and The Great American Lie, which you can watch on Kanopy for free with a library card or university login.