3 Child-Based Nonprofits That Need Help During The Pandemic

If you enjoy making donations to charities and love children, then you may be looking for one or more child-based nonprofits to donate funds to. However, you may be overwhelmed with the large number of child-based nonprofit charities and may struggle to decide who needs your donations most. 

While donations to international children's organizations should not stop, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the needs of US-based charities that are doing their best to help children who are now struggling due to the many ways the pandemic has affected society. 

Read on to learn about three child-based nonprofit types that help children affected by the pandemic to keep in consideration when determining where charity funds may be needed most. 

1. Child Food Distribution Programs

According to the Duke Global Health Institute, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in child hunger and food insecurity in the United States.

At the beginning of the pandemic when most public schools were closed for many months, children who depended on nutritious school meals, such as breakfast and lunch, lost access to them. While some parents had the means to increase their grocery shopping budgets to accommodate for an increased need for healthy meals for their children at home, others did not, which led to many children simply going without these much-needed meals. 

While most public schools have now re-opened, low-income children are still being sent home to quarantine when they have spent time with COVID-19-infected classmates, yet again spending many days at home without access to their school-based meals. 

For these reasons, child hunger has increased dramatically since the pandemic began. In fact, while child food insufficiency, or insecurity, affected about 7.7 percent of the nation's children during 2018, the number of children suffering from a lack of healthy food increased to about 19.9 percent in July 2020. 

Thankfully, there are many nonprofit agencies in the United States who aim to distribute healthy meals to as many hungry children as they can, although these agencies often need donations to support their cause. 

2. Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotlines

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the psychological health of many children, which has increased the need for suicide and mental health crisis hotlines that can help children in the United States. While approximately 40,000 children in the country have experienced the death of a parent due to the COVID-19 virus, all children have been affected by the uncertainty of these tough times in the United States. 

Many children went without the guidance and moral support of teachers and school counselors when schools were closed during the beginning of the pandemic.

Even though most public schools are in session again, they continue to struggle with the psychological consequences of being in constant fear of catching a potentially deadly virus, the need to wear masks every day at school, and for many, the loss of a steady income their parents no longer earn due to pandemic lay-offs. 

For these reasons and many more, suicide and mental health crisis hotlines for children and teenagers are more important than ever before. 

3. Children's Healthcare Services

While there has always been a need for nonprofit children's healthcare services, the need has become greater due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children's hospitals all over the country are seeing an influx of children who are infected with the COVID-19 virus. Many are even in intensive care units where they need ample around-the-clock care. While most childhood cases of the COVID-19 virus were mild at the beginning of the pandemic, at least one experienced medical professional believes that the rise in severe COVID-19 cases may be due to the unique way the Delta variant affects a child's body. 

For this reason, children's nonprofit healthcare services need public support now more than ever. 

If you enjoy helping children, then keep these three child-based nonprofit organization types in mind when deciding what charity type to earmark for your next charity donation. 

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