Giving Tuesday: Local organizations ask for a helping hand this holiday season

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Giving Tuesday is Nov. 28, and local organizations hope you will lend them a helping hand.

"Giving Tuesday is huge for us. It helps create more lifesaving programs," Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Community (MADDAC) Community Engagement Coordinator Kate Hartlund said.

Right now, 400 cats and 300 dogs are at MADDAC in need of food and medical care.

"We have a very, very full house right now because we don't get to turn [strays] away," Hartlund explained.

Their work, Hartlund says, would not be feasible without help from the community.

"Anything that we want to do for lifesaving efforts is really done through fundraising, donations, and things like that," she said.

Hartlund shared that their numbers show the need, with $100 supplying food for 100 cats or 60 dogs for just one day at MADDAC. For more information on how to help, click HERE.

Milwaukee Diaper Mission is also in need of help as it grows and helps more and more people get essential items like diapers, baby wipes and period products.

"This year, however, diaper need has grown really dramatically, and so, this is the first year that we've begun purchasing bulk diapers," Milwaukee Diaper Mission Operations Manager Lily Grant said.

Grant tells CBS 58 that buying diapers in bulk is now going to be a regular operation for them as they see an average distribution of 85,000 diapers a month. Because of this, financial contributions are crucial to their mission.

"While you're doing your holiday shopping for the folks in your life, or maybe the kids in your life that you know and care about, this is your chance to send a gift to a kid and a parent who you don't know, but who could really use your help," Grant said.

Their biggest need is in diapers sizes 4, 5 and 6.

"The bigger the diapers, the fewer we have, and those are actually our most distributed sizes," Grant explained.

To donate to the Milwaukee Diaper Mission, visit their website.

Another organization seeking assistance is Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national non-profit with several local chapters dedicated to building beds for kids.

"Our motto is no kid sleeps on the floor in our town, and our town is any town there is right now," Sleep in Heavenly Peace Racine/Kenosha Founder/Co-President Michael Prudhom said.

So far this year, Prudhom said they have donated 441 beds, but 500 children are on their waitlist. He said they need volunteers, tools and brand-new bedding to give these kids a place to lay their heads at night.

"The full cost of putting a bed together is about $250," he said. "Our biggest need, actually, is people who will volunteer for deliveries."

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is seeking volunteers for a mass bed delivery on Saturday, Dec. 9. For information on how to donate or volunteer, click HERE.