Tell Patch About Your Favorite Local Charities In Stoughton

STOUGHTON, MA— In a typical year, the holiday season is the time when many Massachusetts nonprofit organizations have to turn away volunteers.

But 2020 is not a typical year, and the coronavirus pandemic has left many local charities with fewer donations and volunteers. Earlier this week, Fidelity Charitable released a study showing that two-in-three volunteers had decreased or stopped contributing time to nonprofit organizations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

The study also found that 64 percent of people weren't sure how to find or participate in remote volunteer activities nonprofits have offered since the start of the crisis.

"This lack of awareness has hurt nonprofits at a time when they are already suffering more than ever before," Amy Pirozzolo, head of Donor Engagement for Fidelity Charitable, said. "Charities essentially lost access to millions of dollars in volunteers' time."

Patch wants to help increase awareness of the nonprofits in the Stoughton area, and we're asking for help from readers. Help is needed for all sorts of charities, but Norfolk County food pantries are among those that could use the most help.

Food insecurity isn't a new problem in Norfolk County. Before the pandemic threw millions of Americans into unemployment, 43,410 or 6.2 percent of residents were considered food insecure. And that number had been slowly decreasing from 53,810 or 7.8 percent in 2016. But the recent economic fallout from the health pandemic has swollen that percent to 11.3 percent who are on the brink of hunger.

If you have a favorite local charity, fill out the form below, so we can let our readers know about the work it does, as well as its current goals and needs. We'll collect the responses and publish profiles of readers' favorite local charities throughout the holiday season.