Rachel Ray Gives Back for the Holidays

on November 15, 2009 at 8:45 AM

I'm such a sucker for stories about celebrities who volunteer and donate money to great causes especially during the holidays...

I've been reading about how talk/cooking show host Rachel Ray not only had her crew rebuild and remodel a soup kitchen in Ohio, but is also making sure it will be supplied with enough food to feed its more than 500 clients for an entire year.

See? I'm a total sucker for this stuff...

The community where the soup kitchen is located has been particularly hard-hit by the economic recession: The unemployment rate is up to 15 percent. Moreover, whereas six months ago, the soup kitchen served 200 clients on a typical day, now it serves upward of 500 clients daily.

The soup kitchen remodel is part of a 20-city road trip she is doing with Cincinnati native Nick Lachey for the Rachel Ray Show.

I volunteer at a food pantry in my community twice a month, and during the holidays I'm hoping to step up my involvement a bit. It's peanuts compared to the time and resources Rachel Ray has contributed, but it's what I can give right now.

How does your family give back during the holidays?

Making a Difference, One Child at a Time

How to Donate Your Hair to Charity

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: food, holidays, traditions, trends

Comments (5)

PinkSodaPop

on Nov 15, 2009 at 3:13 PM

I have done this in the past for Christmas time, I also used to make homemade wreath to pass out, and collected small 'gifts' to give to the children in the shelter that I donated my time to each Christmas...

It was one of the most uplifting things I have ever done.

It still is... helping another human being out of kindness ROCKS!

Report this comment

aurorabunny

on Nov 15, 2009 at 3:55 PM

As much as the way she talks annoys me (can't help it!) she is awesome. She does a lot for pit bull rescue too because of her dog.

AgentBrez

on Nov 15, 2009 at 8:26 PM

we do a lot of donations and volunteering through our Church. also, a local women's political group i am is does a toy drive during the holidays and we recently gave paper backs and magazines to the VA on Veteran's Day and collected toiletries for a local women's shelter.

MomIWant

on Nov 16, 2009 at 8:22 AM

I really like her & now I like her even more...Ohio has been in a depression since 2001 it seems & the shelters & food banks are really struggling. We actually donate to one of our favorite shelters every month - it's part of our budget - around Christmas we try to make a large donation...when I retire (haha), I would like to volunteer full-time!

girl_in_the_D

on Nov 16, 2009 at 12:39 PM

I volunteer through an awesome organization called Alternatives for Girls in Detroit. Every year my daughter and I "adopt" a girl to buy gifts for. I also help out at their Christmas fair.

I collect pop cans and bottles in the office (we have about 75 people) and return them. With the money we get back usually about 50.00 I buy canned goods for the local food bank and in order to get into our X mas party everyone has to bring at least 5 canned goods or clothing items (like mittens, scarves, socks ect..)

We help out all year long so really nothing changes for us other than we get to live out the idea that giving is better than receiving