Best Ways To Celebrate World Humanitarian Day In DFW

By Shawn S. Lealos

Aug. 19 is World Humanitarian Day, a day meant to honor the humanitarian aid workers who brave the dangers of war and disaster on the front lines to help and assist those in need. While not everyone can take on the role of one of these disaster workers, there are still plenty of chances to volunteer and help people all over the world - including in your own cities. In honor of World Humanitarian Day, here are some great ways for people in the DFW area to celebrate and honor these people by helping those in need.

United Nations - Dallas Chapter
4104 Sperry St.
Dallas, TX 75214
(972) 480-5236
www.dallas-una.org

When it comes to donations to help out with world humanitarian efforts, it is the United Nations that leads the way and designated World Humanitarian Day to begin with. For DFW residents, there is a way that regular people can help out. There is a Dallas chapter of the United Nations set up and there is a way to give donations to help the relief workers in other countries.This year's theme is "Not a Target" and the goal is to protect civilians, aid workers, and anyone else affected by the wars and conflicts around the world. Anyone can purchase a membership to the Dallas chapter and money is used to help those in need. There is also a way to simply donate and the U.N. allows you to choose which country your money goes to help.

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American Red Cross
4800 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75235
(800) 733-2777
www.redcrossdfw.wordpress.com

One of the most popular locations worldwide to donate to those in need is the American Red Cross centers. The Red Cross in the DFW area is located on Harry Hines Blvd. and they are always looking for donations. The Dallas-Fort Worth American Red Cross center serves over six million individuals and families in the DFW Meetroplex and also provides humanitarian relief to victims of disasters. They are also looking for volunteers to add to their ranks of over 3,800 current volunteers working to help those in need.  The Red Cross is also part of an International Committee of the Red Cross and reaches out to help people all over the world in need of assistance.

Heifer International - Dallas
4750 Pear Ridge Drive, Suite 11104
Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 248-9950
www.heifer.org

As the name indicates, Heifer International is an international charitable organization but they have a branch in Dallas that will help DFW residents do their part in helping end hunger and poverty all over the world. Heifer International has a goal of not giving out food to those in need but instead teaching people in areas of immense poverty how to start their own agricultural and commerce society to help bring them opportunities to begin to sustain a better way of life in the future. Volunteers to Heifer International - Dallas learn how to care for livestock and then pass on the training to others. The goal of the organization is to teach all families how to become self-reliant and then pass it on to others to try to finally bring an end to poverty once and for all.

Community Partners Of Dallas
1215 Skiles Street
Dallas, Texas 75204
(214) 624-7557
www.cpdtx.org

Community Partners of Dallas works to offer safety, inspire hope, and restore dignity to neglected and abused children that are cared for by the Dallas County Child Protective Services. For people who want to volunteer their time to help these kids, there are opportunities to get involved with fundraisers and food drives as well as work in warehouses stocking the Rainbow Room with toys, shoes, clothes, and more for the children. There is also a call for donations to help the kids, with clothes, shoes, baby care products, and more that is needed.

Shoes For Orphan Souls
Buckner International
5405 Shoe Drive
Mesquite TX 75149
(214) 939-7171
www.buckner.org/shoes

Even if people don't have the time to put into large scale volunteer work, that doesn't mean that there isn't a chance to help people in need. Buckner Shoes has a program called Shoes for Orphan Souls in Mesquite, Texas. This is the largest humanitarian aid project of Buckner International and allows people in the DFW area to help kids who need it the most. By donating shoes to SHoes for Orphan Souls, Buckner sends them to children at orphanages in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and Kenya. There is also a chance to get your kids involved because they allow children to hand write notes and add drawings to send to these children with their new shoes.

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