6 Ways to Help Hurricane Sandy Victims This Thanksgiving in NYC

<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy">JFK</a> once said, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." It's a quote that rings especially true of Thanksgiving in New York this year. If you have a lot to be thankful for, there are still many opportunities to pay that feeling forward by donating your time, funds or food to families affected by <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/hurricane-sandy/">Hurricane Sandy</a> tomorrow. It doesn't take much - a few hours of time or even just dropping off some cans can make a difference. Read on for 6 ways you can give back this Thanksgiving.

<em>Photo from the Hurricane Sandy Thanksgiving Adopt a Family Facebook page</em> <h3>Adopt a family displaced by Hurricane Sandy for Thanksgiving Dinner</h3> From the plethora of "How to Use Up Your Thanksgiving Leftovers" articles on the internet it's pretty obvious that most of us have an a surplus of food on T-Day, so why not share some of it with families that were displaced by Hurricane Sandy? It's a nice chance to meet fellow New Yorkers and you really don't have to do much extra except perhaps make another batch of mashed potatoes or two. If you're interested, head to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HurricaneSandyThanksgivingAdoptAFamilyForDinner">Hurricane Sandy Thanksgiving Adopt a Family Facebook page</a> for more info.

<h3>Help people clean up their homes in Long Beach</h3> They say hunger is the best sauce so why not work up an appetite before sitting down to your Thanksgiving meal by <a href="http://www.liquidchurch.com/sandythanksgiving/">helping Hurricane Sandy victims in Long Beach clean up their homes</a>? Many lawns in the area are still piled high with rubble, so they could really use strong guys and gals to lend a hand. Sign up with <a href="http://www.liquidchurch.com/sandythanksgiving/">Liquid Church</a>, who will be organizing volunteer efforts on Thanksgiving Day.

<h3>Serve food at the Bowery Mission</h3> The Bowery Mission has been housing and feeding people in need for 133 years now, but they've extra busy since Hurricane Sandy hit. This year, they'll be preparing and serving over 100,000 meals during the holiday season and 9,000 during Thanksgiving Week alone. If you want to help out, please <a href="http://support.bowery.org/site/TR?fr_id=1040&amp;pg=entry">visit their website</a> to sign up.

<h3>Donate food to families in need on Staten Island</h3> If you make a mean sweet potato pie or a showstopping green bean casserole, why not whip up an extra batch and bring it to Staten Island on Thanksgiving so it can be enjoyed by a family in need? <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thanksgivingfooddrivesi?ref=ts&amp;fref=ts">A group of volunteers led by Alexis Garbarino</a> will be collecting prepared dishes at the Promaster Gourmet at 1888 Hylan Boulevard from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Alexis is trying her best to stay organized so please contact her at 917-560-5974 or through email at [email protected] with your plans to bring food.

<h3><a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/mayor-bloomberg-and-airbnb-announce-they-will-offer-free-housing-to-sandy-victims/">Give families a place to stay through Airbnb</a></h3> While many New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy have been able to return to their homes, there are still others that will be homeless on Thanksgiving. If you have some extra space at your house, head over to <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/sandy">Airbnb</a>, which has been matching up people in need of housing with free rooms. Even if you can only offer a living room couch for the night, you'll be giving someone a warm place to spend Thanksgiving.

<h3>Cook food for Hurricane Sandy victims or drive it to them</h3> <a href="http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/">Occupy Sandy</a> will be delivering food and supplies to Hurricane Sandy-affected families on Thanksgiving just like it has been for the past few weeks. They <a href="http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/">need help</a> starting on Wednesday with food supply donations and preparing meals at St. John's Church (located at 9818 Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn) and if you have a car, they'll be dispatching volunteers and cars to recovery sites from 8am until 2pm on Thanksgiving day from St. Jacobi Church (Between 54th and 55th on 4th Ave in Sunset Park). More info <a href="http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/">here</a>.