With the holiday season upon us, many organizations throughout Dublin and the surrounding areas are doing their best to help local families have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

The Dublin Counseling Center (299 Cramer Creek Ct.) needs volunteers during this time of year. Besides serving 15 families Thanksgiving dinner, the center also adopts 20 families and provides them with a Christmas celebration they would not have otherwise.

“One woman we served had never had a present before, not even a birthday present,” says Kim Eberst, outreach coordinator for the center.

The center has drop boxes and is looking for people willing to donate unwrapped gift items such as gift cards, basketballs, footballs and more. It is especially in need of gift items for teenagers, which is often the hardest age group to provide for.

In addition to gift donations, interested people may adopt a family for Christmas. For more information, contact Eberst at 614-889-5722, ext. 237.

The Dublin Chamber of Commerce (129 S. High St.) holds a food and coat drive through the end of the year, benefiting the Dublin Food Pantry (81 W. Bridge St.). It will also accept coats of any size for any age for the Welcome Warehouse (6500 Shier Rings Rd.), which distributes clothing to needy community members.

The Dublin Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (75 N. High St.) is also a coat drop-off location. While the library is not part of a drive, it collects for various area charities.

Give the gift of song and warmth with the Dublin Girl Scouts annual Warm Hands, Caroling Hearts. This annual event features carolers in various neighborhoods who collect gloves, hats and scarves to benefit the homeless of Columbus. All donations will be given to the Streets Mission Project at First Community Church (1320 Cambridge Blvd. and 3777 Dublin Rd., Columbus). Interested troops should find a neighborhood to carol in and contact Liza Magee at or Carina Dacierno at .  

Christmas with the Critters, held by the Ohio Wildlife Center from 1-4 p.m. Dec. 28 at its Nature Education Center (6131 Cook Rd., Powell), provides a different type of giving. Come face to face with wild critters and enjoy a day of games and crafts for kids, music and snacks. The event is complete with information about how different animals adapt to winter. Admission is free with a donation from the organization’s wish list, which includes items benefitting the OWC Hospital, its education program and the animals. To see this wish list, visit www.ohiowildlifecenter.org and click on “Events.”

The Dublin Food Pantry is always in need of donations. This year’s top requests include baby food and diapers, canned foods (other than applesauce and peaches), pancake mix and syrup, jelly, cake and cookie mixes, canned meats (other than tuna), boxed potatoes and seasonal/holiday food items. For more information on donations or how to volunteer, visit www.dublinfoodpantry.org.  

Finally, People in Need, Inc. of Delaware County (138 Johnson Dr., Delaware) is holding its annual Holiday Clearing House City/County Food Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 5. This event allows people to drop off food, new toys, new clothing or monetary donations at various locations in Delaware County, including the Delaware County Fairgrounds Coliseum, Delaware City and County Fire Departments, Hayes Colony Apartment Complex and Londontown Apartment Complex.

The organization continues to take donations until Dec. 12, when it will pack the food for families to pick up the next day. Volunteers are needed to help sort donations. The organization usually provides nine meals per family, serving 25 to 30 families every half hour.

“We packed up 18,000 meals in a three-hour window last year,” says Kevin Crowley, executive director of the organization.

People interested in assisting with this event may call 740-363-6284.

Katie Sheets is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.