10 Ways to Give: Local Love

Mural Credit: Ricky Loves Painting - Do you already know this mural? You’ll find it on 6th Ave near a certain cat friendly coffee shop (yes, really!).

This list of ways to give here in Tacoma is split between gifts to family, friends, and loved ones chosen from small, local, and family-owned businesses, and gifts to ones we don’t know, to unknown neighbors, unknown families, unknown people of our community, unknown humans and creatures who exist side by side with us in our city, and like the rest of us, need support. Bah-humbug to the prescribing of bootstraps! If I imagine my life without the support of those known and unknown around me it’s a sad, uncertain, dark place to be. If we’re not already there yet, now is the time to admit that we don’t only need others, but that we’re needed too. So take a look. See if you can find a way to give that supports our local community, local economy, and local relationships.

If you’re not shopping this season, or don’t celebrate with gift-giving in December, tuck some of these ideas away for a time when you’re seeking to celebrate someone in your life, or need an outlet for showing your love to community.

1. Buy Local - Visit Those Makers’ Markets!

If you’re interested in buying vintage and supporting the creative endeavors of the members of our community trying their hands and minds at making something that brings in some earnings and gives delight to others, get out to our local markets this December! Follow these links to learn more:

Shiloh Loft Holiday Party - 12/4: 5 - 9 pm (our friend Anna Brones will be there!)
Tacoma Night Market (& Brunch Market) - 12/5: 11 am - 4 pm, 12/11: 5 - 10 pm, 12/2: 11 am - 4 pm (try our friend Micah Tucker’s new hot sandwiches with jus (dip) from his brand new business Memoranda Kitchen at the 12/5 and 12/11 markets)
Tacoma Sunday Market - 12/5: 11 am - 4 pm

Image from YWCA Pierce County

2. Local Love - YWCA Holiday Giving - Empower Families to Shop for The Holidays

The YWCA Pierce County is reaching out for Holiday Giving support for their clients. The best way to give to the people seeking safety and next steps at the YWCA this season is by giving a gift cards from these shops:

  • Visa gift card

  • Target

  • Walmart

  • Fred Meyer

  • Amazon

  • Ross Dress for Less

  • Safeway

  • H & M

As the YWCA says, “For survivors of domestic violence, one of the most empowering feelings often comes from being able to make decisions on their own.” With these gift cards, people can have the fun and fulfillment of shopping for their loved ones this season. Send (or drop-off) physical gift cards to the YWCA and they’ll distribute to clients, or send a monetary donation. Find the details for the Holiday Gift Program here.

A glimpse of the books awaiting discovery at Teaching Toys.

3. Buy Local - Give the Gift of Reading & Support a Local Book Shop

Pull up a stump in the Curious Bear reading corner.

Giving a book is giving an adventure in the mind. If it’s a book you’ve read and loved it can also be a gift of future conversation, or shared experience, an invitation into who you are and what you love. Giving a book from a local book shop supports a small business, helps local employees and shop owners check-off the items on their grocery list and ensures those bookstores will still be there when you’re ready to browse. We recommend:

If you visit Teaching Toys or Curious Bear you’re almost guaranteed to find some other toys, puzzles, games, or art supplies for young ones in your life along with some good reading.

4. Local Love - Hot Tamale Drive for Houseless Folks of Tacoma

It’s as simple as a warm, home-cooked meal given with love and it’s as easy as $3. That means, if you’re feeling the urge to do something, anything! to help our unsheltered neighbors, this is something you can do. Molly of The Borderless Kitchen will take care of the organizing, the fundraising, and the actual cooking. We can all support with a few dollars (starting at $3 per tamale) and a lot of goodwill.

5. Buy Local - Give Family Time/Friend Time at Zoo Lights

Give the gift of some time outside with loved ones. Give it to yourself and your own crew, or give it to a friend who could really use some light, some fanciful exploration, and a sense of fun. Zoo Lights is going strong at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium from November 26th to January 2nd and you can find tickets here.

Image from Oscar’s Enemies - The team is on a mission!

6. Local Love - Litter Pick Up with Oscar’s Enemies - The Gift of Volunteering

Here’s an opportunity to give the gift of your time. This month, Oscar’s Enemies and all their friends (that includes us and could include you too!) will gather in the Dome District to pick-up litter. Why? Because this is just one more way to show love to Tacoma, to the place, the people, and the creatures that call the city home. It’s good for the earth, and it’s good for your heart. Gather at 8:40 am, get instructions, start the route, then gather for a raffle at 11 am. Oh! And there’s an opportunity to donate items for My Sister’s Pantry - more details will follow your sign-up. Visit Oscar’s Enemies on Instagram or use this link to RSVP!

Image from The Borderless Kitchen

7. Buy Local - Give Relaxation & Delight with Mezze Spreads by The Borderless Kitchen

We could say, “give the gift of delicious food” but went with “relaxation and delight” because that’s what comes of giving a loved one the gift of a platter of food. The Borderless Kitchen is creating Mezze Style Spreads (think charcuterie but way beyond meat and cheese) that you can order for a party of 2 people all the way up to 30 with vegetarian, vegan, and dessert options. You could order one for your tree decorating evening, or for a special at home date night. You could order one for a family get together at your place, or for a friend who could use an evening with their feet up, relaxing in the candlelight with a platter of delightful flavors to keep them company.

8. Local Love - Give Conservation & Creature Care - Tahoma Audubon Society

Maybe you love birds. Maybe you love someone who loves birds, or creeks, or meadows, or natural habitats for our neighbor creatures. In that case, it could be really sweet to give the gift of a membership to the Tahoma Audubon Society. Memberships start at $20/year. As the Tahoma Audubon Society says, “Your membership with Tahoma Audubon connects people throughout Pierce County with birds, other wildlife and their habitats through education, conservation and recreation. Thank you!” What a gift! See all the membership levels and what membership in the society includes on their membership page.

Image from Cocobolo

9. Buy Local - Support Tacoma’s Small Businesses

There are a lot of places to spend money. They’re all over our phones and computers, they fill malls and shopping centers, they’re endless. Nobody needs more ways to spend money! But, if you’re giving gifts now or throughout the year, consider supporting a small business, one run by just a handful of dedicated people, one where you might even be conversing with the shop owner while you choose a gift. We aren’t really here to advocate more spending, but rather to recommend a few small, local businesses, some of which are women-owned and BIPOC-owned. The other day I was running errands. I stopped at a flower shop to get flowers to give, and at a restaurant to pick-up a gift card. When I entered each of those businesses, I was greeted by name. It changed my whole day, the whole experience of spending time and money to give a gift. It’s not about me feeling important, it’s about belonging. I think shopping where we live, from people rather than corporations, helps build belonging. I invite you to experience that.

Image from Adorned Abode

Image from Evolve Home

This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but just a selection of some Tacoma small businesses run by people we know, or people we like to support.

Image from Manifest Coffee

  • Nearsighted Narwhal - 6th Ave - Eclectic, spunky/funky, lots of Tacoma-made items like buttons, pins, zines, ceramics, stickers, and prints

  • Adorned Abode - Freighthouse Square - Cozy, thoughtful treats and gifts for the home and beyond with online, curbside, or in-person-by-appointment shopping with a special Gift Box Concierge Service (ask Benita!)

  • Cocobolo - St Helens District - Sister-owned, carefully curated apparel, supporting small, environmentally conscious brands and vintage, with their own house line

  • Tacoma Soap Refillery - Historic North Slope - Way beyond soap, this shop is focused on waste reduction through refillable/reusable home staples with a special gift section (think soaps, Swedish dishcloths, pottery, and eucalyptus steam tablets for the shower)

  • Evolve Home + Apparel - Three Bridges District - Apparel, refurbished vintage radios, home goods, textiles, rugs, and plants carefully selected by business owners with a passion for design

  • Local Coffee Roasters - Buy a gift card or a bag of beans!

10. Local Love - Support Comprehensive Life Resources - The Gift of Loving Your Neighbor

Comprehensive Life Resources in downtown Tacoma offers an array of programs from Homeless Outreach to Youth Services, from Counseling for Children, Families and Adults to Supportive Housing, from Substance Use Services to a Mobile Community Intervention Response Team (MCIRT). No matter what they’re doing, whether it’s facilitating a vaccine clinic to meet houseless people where they are, or operating a life-skills drop-in center for youth, Comprehensive Life Resources brings the value of mental health and wellness to each program. If you have a favorite non-profit that’s seeking to support unsheltered, houseless, homeless, housing-insecure humans, then go ahead and give to them. If you’re looking for a place to donate some of what you have, consider Comprehensive Life Resources. We all need help.

Keep in touch about Tacoma life, community, events, homes, and a bit about us.

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Hi, I'm Michael Duggan, a licensed broker with Windermere Abode. I would love to help you through the home buying or selling process. Please contact me to set up a meeting and get things started.