When times get tough and sometimes I get a little glum, my guardian angel is always around to tap me on my shoulder and remind me of just how fortunate I am. We can get lost in our everyday lives and daily stresses, which pale in comparison to what many others have to endure—ill health, poverty, homelessness, poor education, human rights violating, domestic violence, animal mistreatment, environmental destruction, the scars of war—the list is endless. Thankfully, there are ways to help.

The spirit of giving is a gift in itself and whatever cause or organization you feel passionate about will benefit from any volunteer service or donation you can contribute. There is a plethora of international and local organizations, and each one, no matter how small, will make a big difference in someone’s life. The following are only a few of the amazing causes and charitable organizations.

East Hampton Food Pantry and the Human Resources of the Hamptons Food Pantry are two organizations that help provide food for local families in need. Serving hundreds of families each week, the Food Pantry’s mission is to provide help, through donations and volunteer programs, and to raise awareness about hunger on the East End—www.easthamptonfoodpantry.org. The Hamptons Food Pantry of Southampton can be reached at 631.283.6415

Maureen’s Haven Homeless Outreach has provided the means to help men and women on the East End to have a fighting chance. The mission of Maureen’s Haven is to protect and empower the homeless on the East End by providing shelter and compassionate services, information and support to enrich their lives to- wards self-sufficiency—www.maureenshaven.org.

Another wonderful East End organization is Have a Heart Community Trust. This charitable organization is dedicated to providing direct emergency relief to residents of the East End in times of individual and/or family crisis. They work in partnership with local not-for-profit organizations to support to those most in need—www.haveaheartcommunitytrust.org.

Where violence ends, hope begins, The Retreat—Domestic Violence Services is located in East Hampton. This organization offers a safe place, shelter, support, food and counseling for victims of abuse and their children. The shelter served 70 women and 34 children in 2011 and provided counseling services to more than 3,000—www.theretreatinc.org.

Here are a few more organizations out of thousands that need our support:

American Red Cross (always there for any natural disaster, state of emergency, assisting military members and their families, teaching skills that can save lives and collecting lifesaving blood)—www.redcross.org; East End Hospice, caring for the terminally ill on the East End and their loved ones—www.eeh.org; Make A Wish Foundation, making dreams come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions since 1980—www.wish.org; March of Dimes, assisting families and their babies born prematurely or with birth defects—www.marchofdimes.com; National Breast Cancer Foundation, supporting women with breast cancer fight the battle to find a cure—www.nationalbreastcancer.org; Wounded Warrior Project, assisting those men and women and their families who suffered and were injured in the war—www.woundedwarriorproject.org; Habitat for Humanity, helping those in need to build a new life and a new home—www.habitat.org; Greenpeace, the largest independent direct action organization in the world, serving to protect our planet and all that live in it for a green and peaceful future—www.greenpeace.org; Unicef, helping children across the globe to fight disease and starvation—www.unicef.org; St. Jude, finding cures to save sick children—www.stjude.org; Amnesty International, protecting human rights worldwide—www.amnestyusa.com; Animal Rescue Fund, assisting helpless animals on the East End—www.arfhamptons.org or www.arf.net; Kent Animal Shelter, caring for and saving animals on the North Fork and South Fork—www.kentanimalshelter.com.