Highlighted Charities for the 2021 NALA Conference @ Home
Each year, as part of the NALA Conference & Expo, NALA highlights a local charity that is in proximity to the location of the in-person conference. The charity is featured throughout the conference and attendees are encouraged to make donations in support of the charity. In 2020, as the conference was fully virtual, there was no opportunity to select a local charity, and none was featured. We did not want the same outcome for 2021 even with this year’s conference being fully virtual again. This year NALA has selected two different national efforts that have local affiliations all across the country, allowing conference attendees to support charities within their own communities. For the 2021 charity, NALA chose to focus on ones that are serving those who have been particularly impacted by the pandemic.
Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 42 million people may experience food insecurity, including a potential 13 million children. To address the explosion of food insecurity across the country, NALA has chosen Feeding America, which is a nationwide network of food banks that deliver programs at the front line of hunger and lead the nation to engage in the fight against hunger.
Legal challenges have also increased for those who are already traditionally under-served in our communities. Protection against domestic violence, custody issues, foreclosures, landlord-tenant disputes, unscrupulous lenders, bankruptcy, income protection, and benefit vulnerability have become more complicated and difficult to navigate for the most vulnerable of those around us. These issues are a significant part of the work of the local programs supported by the Legal Services Corporation, NALA’s other selected charity in 2021.
Instead of donating to these national organizations, where an individual donation might not have the same impact as it might have on a smaller local organization, NALA is suggesting that those interested in supporting these issues as an attendee of NALA’s 2021 Conference @ Home make a donation to one of the local groups associated with these national efforts. Below are instructions for making your individual donation to a charity doing work in your own backyard.
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Click here to find a map of the food banks that are part of the Feeding America network. Simply enter your zip code or state in the orange search box to find your local food bank. The resulting information about your local food bank will include its website. Click on the website link and follow the donation instructions for that particular food bank. | |
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Click here to find a map of the local programs funded through the Legal Services Corporation. If you hover your mouse over your area in the country, a box will appear listing the local program. You can also see a listing by state if you scroll a little further down the page. When you click on the program (or “grantee”) profile, you will find the local website. Follow the donation instructions for that particular program. Please note, many programs have donation information under a menu item called “Get Involved,” “Give Help,” “Support Us,” or a similar heading. |
If you have any questions regarding making a donation to one of these local programs, please use the contact information provided by that particular program. NALA will not be able to assist directly in any donations.
Thank you so much for any support you can provide these charities during this particularly challenging era. Please note that no donation is too small and is greatly appreciated by these programs doing such critical work in all of our communities.
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