How To Give Back This Christmas: Charity Initiatives, Where To Donate & More

Here’s how you can help make a difference over the festive season with volunteering opportunities, where to donate in Hong Kong, charity fundraising initiatives and more…

Looking to give back over Christmas and the holidays? As the festive season approaches, help to spread holiday cheer while supporting our local community. From volunteering at food banks and backing charity initiatives to fostering a furry friend or simply shopping for stocking fillers at local homegrown businesses, here are just a few ways that you can get involved and do your bit for the city.

Read More: Where To Donate Or Sell Clothes, Furniture & Homeware In Hong Kong

Shop Local

The strain of Hong Kong’s fast-moving shopping industry has hit even the biggest, most prominent brands (how many closures can you count — we know we’ve lost some of our favourite outposts over the past couple of years!). So it’s no surprise that smaller businesses struggle to recover losses and stay afloat. That’s why it’s so important to band together and show support for homegrown local businesses!

Shopping online, especially on big brand marketplaces, can feel easy and the lure of free shipping is always a bonus — but we believe in Hong Kong retailers! Not only is shopping locally a great way to give back to the community, it’s also a surefire way to avoid the unethical practices of fast fashion.

Whether you’re looking for stocking fillers, beauty gifts, something festive, or a trinket that doubles as an ode to #homekong — local brands (including sustainable fashion brands!) stock it all! Plus, you can always give restaurant gift cards, boutique homeware vouchers and passes to Hong Kong’s health and wellness scene to boost local businesses’ revenue this year.

Read More: Local Hong Kong Brands We Love

Christmas Products To Shop From Local HK Brands:

• The Lion Rock Press proudly supports Mother’s Choice, Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum and Mind HK. With the purchase of any of its Christmas Cards, Wrap or Tags, 100% of the profits go to Mother’s Choice and Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum, while $20 is donated to Mind HK for every Paper Advent or 2025 Wall Calendar sold.
• The Society for the Relief of Disabled Children is also selling Greeting Cards to support its work to create and fund medical, surgical, rehabilitation and educational services for differently-abled children in Hong Kong.

Read More: 2025 Christmas Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List

Volunteer Your Time

We’re not always in a position where we can lend monetary help but lending our time this holiday season makes a huge difference too. Many charitable organisations and initiatives in Hong Kong truly benefit from an extra pair of hands. Aside from time, cause-driven organisations are often looking for people to support with marketing, design, legal work, education, translation, event management and fundraising.

Check out this comprehensive list of inspiring, worthwhile charities and organisations that may need a little extra assistance this time of year.

Donate Food And Hygiene Supplies

A 2025 survey by the The Chinese University of Hong Kong indicates that 70.1% of residents see wealth disparity as serious, an increase from last year, with 80.7% wanting more government action. Food often becomes the last priority for the underprivileged, with expenses such as rent, transportation, medical bills and education taking priority.

Reduce food waste by supporting local charities striving to feed Hong Kong — it’s a win-win! Perhaps you stocked up on cans earlier in the year or were gifted too many Christmas treats. Whatever it may be, various organisations are working tirelessly throughout the year to collect, sort, store and redistribute surplus food items to those in need.

Feeding Hong Kong runs its annual Santa Sack Food Drive calling for essential food items like rice, noodles, cooking oil and canned food, which are in high demand in the community — to make its Festive Food Parcels, which can support 10 extra meals for a two-person family. This year, the food bank is looking to donate and distribute at least 6,000 Santa Sacks to feed those in need. You can also donate $150, which will help Feeding Hong Kong to source, pack and deliver one special food pack.

Other than food, the non-profit also welcomes casual chain restaurant vouchers. Have a look at its volunteer calendar here to see which areas you might be able to help in, perhaps you can assist in the Santa Sack parcel packing or join in the Christmas Bread Run.

If you would like to donate multiple items, be sure to also get in touch with these Hong Kong organisations and food banks below:

• HandsOn Hong Kong — Mobilising Hongkongers, running about 200 volunteer activities each month to support under-resourced local charities and the vulnerable groups they serve. www.handsonhongkong.org
• Foodlink Foundation Limited — A charity connecting the supply directly to the demand, collecting safe-to-eat surplus food from F&B outlets all over the city and delivering it to those in need. foodlinkfoundation.org
• ImpactHK — Working with people experiencing homelessness to help them settle in a safe home, restore their mental and physical well-being, build their self-esteem and social capital and discover their purpose. impacthk.org
• Food Angel — Rescues edible surplus food (that would otherwise be disposed of as waste), prepares it as nutritious meals and redistributes it to underprivileged communities in Hong Kong. www.foodangel.org.hk
• St. James’ Settlement’s People’s Food Bank — Providing short-term and long-term food assistance as well as hot meal services for the elderly, milk powder and boxes of milk to deprived children, nutrition packs and more. www.sjs.org.hk

Read More: Where To Volunteer In Hong Kong — Nonprofits, Charities And Social Enterprises To Get Involved With 

Take Part In Local Christmas Initiatives

Angels for Children

Angels for Children — formerly known as Angels for Orphans — raises awareness and funds for charities in Hong Kong, Cambodia and Indonesia that work tirelessly on the ground to improve the lives of the many children in their care. Its annual Secret Santa gift drive is on until Wednesday, December 31, 2025. More on buying book and school shoes voucher and gift donations here.

The Zubin Foundation

Zubin Crackers by The Zubin Foundation, usually created by Hong Kong’s diverse youth, has proceeds going towards its work for Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities in the mental health space, supporting women and girls, and providing jobs and opportunities. This year’s campaign ‘2025 Christmas Gifts that Give Back’ offers options for e-gifts (kids’ journals and stationery or health checks for the elderly) as well as Women’s Empowerment tote bags.

LEAP

This holiday season, LEAP partners with Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong to bring joy and hope to children and young people in our community. From Saturday, 13 December 2025 to Sunday, 4 January 2026, indulge in a takeaway coffee or tea from the Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop. For every drink purchased, Mandarin Oriental will donate $5 to LEAP. Your little indulgence can spark big change!

Orbis

Society for Community Organization

Since 2004, the Society for Community Organization has recruited community members as Santa Claus through the Santa Project to deliver Christmas gifts to needy grassroots children. The Christmas wishes of nearly 3,000 poor children this year were mostly for the necessities of life and learning, such as black shoes and white sneakers for school, school bags, books, quilts and sports equipment. With an average cost of $250 per gift, children receive essential items for their daily lives and education, fostering a sense of hope and happiness during the holiday season.

Box of Hope

Box of Hope’s mission is to give a child in extreme poverty the chance to experience the joy of receiving a gift. To support this, schools, businesses and individuals all over Hong Kong (including Team Sassy!) actively get involved each year to put together special boxes of toys and personal items (such as toothbrushes and soap) that will then be distributed over the festive period. Its 2025 campaign is complete, but this is a good one to keep in mind for early November next year!

Operation Santa Claus

Operation Santa Claus is an annual fundraising campaign jointly organised by the South China Morning Post and RTHK which hosts a variety of events in aid of select beneficiaries. Last year’s fundraising Christmas events include charity auctions, workout sessions, street fairs, pre-loved designer wear pop-ups and more. The campaign also accepts direct donations through its website. Until Wednesday, 31 December, 2025, all proceeds will go to those affected by the Tai Po fire tragedy.

Foster A Furry Friend For The Holidays

Animal rescue shelters are always looking for people who can foster and relieve some of the pressure off kennels and shelters, giving them space for another dog or cat while you help your furry friends actively socialise!

There is no shortage of charities to choose from — our sister site Sassy Mama Hong Kong has a great list of animal charities and rescue organisations. If you’re interested, be sure to get in touch and ask any questions before filling out a standard questionnaire. Warning: exposure to belly rubs, wet noses and slobbery chops could result in long-term adoption (welcome to the ‘foster fail’ family!).

Bear in mind that you may not be able to specify which cat or dog you would like to foster, and it will heavily depend on the individual needs of the animal (as well as the space you have available for that breed).

Already adopted a rescue? Consider changing your pup’s food brand to one that gives back to shelters in Hong Kong. For every 2kg ordered, dog food subscription service Buddy Bites donates 1kg to its shelter partners! Consult your veterinarian first regarding allergy or food intolerance concerns.

Give The Gift Of Giving

Charitable Choice

Gift a charity eGift Card with Charitable Choice, where your recipient chooses the charity! You’ll just need two minutes to log on and select your gift card design, the value intended (from $100 to $5,000) and the recipient’s address details. Once it arrives in the post, they’ll be able to choose which initiative or charity they would like to support with the money (or you can also select an organisation on their behalf). You can also send a couple of pre-loaded cards to yourself. This year many of the charities will be donating proceeds to those affected by the Tai Po fires.

Twopresents

A Hong Kong-based online social enterprise, Twopresents allows you to invite others to contribute towards a gift fund, of which a percentage will be donated to a charity of your choice. View the charities here.

Make A Blood Donation

One single blood donation can save the lives of three or more people. If you’re in good health, weigh over 41kg and are over the age of 16 (and below 66), this guide is here to help you navigate all the specifics — like what to expect and where to go.

Hong Kong Red Cross has a daily target of 650 donations per day and the Blood Transfusion Service is doing all it can to ensure blood safety and the safety of those donating.

Read More: Donating Blood In Hong Kong – Where To Go And What You Need To Know

Editor’s Note: “How To Give Back To Hong Kong This Christmas” was originally published by Lexi Davey and was most recently updated in December 2025 by Team Sassy. Have a Christmas charity initiative you think we missed? Get in touch with us at [email protected].