The ongoing events in Ferguson have altered the Thanksgiving and Christmas plans for quite a few of the city’s residents for the worse. The business owners who have seen their stores and restaurants looted or destroyed are probably the most visible of those who have been negatively affected by the unrest, but someone’s going to have to clean up the mess left in the streets and on city and private property. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, let’s lend a hand to those hurt by the Ferguson riots. Here are some places you can donate*:

• Natalie Dubose and her bakery and patisserie Natalie’s Cakes and More have been perhaps the most visible victim of the riots. Protesters destroyed her store. She has set up a GoFundMe drive here.
• The Hero Network has a page set up for donations for victims of the looting.
• In response to the initial protests in August, a group of business owners and residents in Ferguson set up the I Love Ferguson Committee to help establishments damaged in the wake of first wave of rioting. They’ll be needing some help after the events going on in the city now. You can check out the charity at their website and donate there. You can read about their efforts here.
• The United Way of Greater St. Louis has set up a donation page to help Ferguson here.
• The Catholic Charities of St. Louis has a page set up especially for addressing needs in Ferguson.
• Many children in Ferguson qualify for a free or reduced price school lunch. With schools closed because of the unrest, many of them might not be getting the food they need. You can donate to the St. Louis Area Food Bank to help fix that.
• You can also give to the food pantry at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
• With schools closed, the Ferguson Municipal Public Library has been staying open with programs for children. You can donate at the library’s homepage.
• If you live in the area, give some of your time to help clean up the city. You can find more information here.

These are just the major ones I’ve found to be involved in helping the people of Ferguson. If any of you have ones to suggest, mention them in the comments. While all of these are worthy ideas, I’d favor the ones helping the businesses destroyed and the efforts to clean up the city.

*Special thanks to, of all places, People magazine for many of these charitable groups.