It’s hard to believe that Christmas is upon us. For the past few years, I’ve made it a tradition to give back to my community – and the world at large – especially during the holiday season. I also try to choose a different cause to give to each year. A friend on Twitter mentioned about Daymaker, an organization that partners with local charities to provide much needed assistance to those who are less fortunate, primarily focusing on kids and families across the country. The organization has created a simplistic platform for people, just like you and me, to give.

Daymaker initially began as a way for parents to teach their kids about giving to others but it has grown into much more, allowing even the young at heart the same opportunity. Those who’d like to give – whether young or young at heart – simply find a giving reason, identify a child and/or family to help, and Daymaker does the rest; partnering with more than 100 “high impact, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations” in more than 20 cities nationwide, according to its website. That includes Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte and Greensboro in North Carolina.

Daymaker is currently running a Christmas campaign where folks can purchase items on a child’s wishlist as well as gift cards for that child’s family, if they’d like. You can search for a child to give to with an intuitive search feature, narrowing results by location, age, etc. Purchasing the wishlist items works like Amazon or any other retailer: just add the item(s) to your cart, checkout and the item(s) are sent from Daymaker to its partner organization, and then to the families. You can track the progress of your gift(s) the entire time via your Daymaker account and – I’m in no way saying this is why I give to charity – but all gifts are tax deductible. I chose two kids to help out. One is named Ivan from my home state of North Carolina and the other is Landon from California.

You know, I’ve been blessed throughout my life. No matter what, I had presents under the tree when I woke up each Christmas morning. Some kids do not have that opportunity and it’s always sad to see. I hope I can brighten the holiday of a child in need with these gifts. I also hope that you’ll join me, if you can.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’d like to give to Daymaker’s Christmas campaign, click here.  You only have about four hours left to contribute. If you miss out on Christmas, Daymaker is preparing for a Puerto Rico and Back to School effort as well, so be on the lookout for those.