OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — As the year comes to a close, there’s still time to check off 2024 resolutions, especially if one of those resolutions was to give back to your community.
- The Oshkosh Area Community Foundation and the Oshkosh Area Humane Society are doubling donations until the ball drops.
- The Salvation Army and other non-profit organizations are also hoping for continued support through the new year.
- Many Oshkosh non-profit leaders say 2024 was a generous year for the community.
“I think it’s the spirit of the season,” Patricia Zastrow, volunteer and event coordinator for the Oshkosh Salvation Army, says. “People, I think, are more apt to realize their surroundings and what is needed and what others don’t have.”
There’s still time in Oshkosh to finish a 2024 resolution to give back to the community.
“There's always time to give, there’s always time to help us do the most good in our area,” Zastrow says.
Oshkosh non-profits are hoping you ring in the New Year by donating.
“We welcome any reason people want to give these last few days,” Ieva Engel, executive director of the Oshkosh Area Humane Society, says.
Before the clock strikes midnight, the OAHS is matching donations until they reach $5,000.
“We’re currently at about $3,700,” Engel says. “We’re super excited that it’s going so well.”
The Oshkosh Community Foundation is also matching donations through Dec. 31 because of a recent $25,000 matching donation, according to communications manager Kate Stel.
The donations will go towards the foundation's Community Impact Fund.
The Salvation Army in Oshkosh is among the other organizations calling for end of the year giving.
More than Toys for Tots and bell ringing, the Oshkosh Salvation Army provides one-on-one case management, a food pantry and hot lunches every weekday.
“We provide a number of services year round that I think a lot of people are not aware of, and so any of that giving does help beyond the holiday season, it helps all year round,” Al Rolph, a social worker at the Oshkosh Salvation Army, says.
Rolph says the organization served over 5,800 more meals in 2023 than they did in 2022.
“The need that we’re seeing in our community, we see that increase over time,” he says.
And going into 2025, Oshkosh non-profits reflect on a year of generosity.
“I did want to thank our community for the amazing engagement this year and for all the support they’ve given this year,” Engel says. “We’ve been so fortunate and we couldn’t ask for a better community.”
“The Oshkosh community does not disappoint,” Zastrow says.
