As an employee of a nonprofit, Nicole Roschella understands that not everyone has extra money to donate to charities around the holiday season.

However, people can help the American Red Cross without paying a cent.

“Giving blood is a great way to do that,” said Roschella, regional communications director for American Red Cross. “It just costs an hour of your time really. It's a gift you don't have to pay for.”

According to Roschella, the Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood, and it is always in need of donations to keep that supply stocked. Roschella said the winter months are often low points for the organization’s blood supply, and weather is usually a contributing factor.

“If we're seeing bad winter weather, there are more car accidents,” she said. “One in seven people who go to the hospital will end up needing a blood transfusion.”

While the need for blood is constant, Roschella said, the Red Cross also regularly offers incentives to people who donate. People can search for blood drives by ZIP code on the Red Cross’ website, and Roschella said each drive may offer incentives, aside from the good feeling a person usually gets after donating.

“We're really asking people to come out and give now,” she said. “I find it to be so easy and painless, and you leave feeling so good and knowing you helped someone.”

To search for blood drive dates and locations, visit redcrossblood.org.

The Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) in Butler County serves around 300 people or more around the winter holiday season.

Jessica Wasson, prevention, outreach & event advocate for VOICe, said that while the agency accepts monetary donations as well as supplies, people can also “adopt” families and donate specifically to them, although the recipients remain anonymous.

According to Wasson, VOICe accepts gift cards, so the agency can give them to its clients of many demographics, who know what items and supplies they need.

“When they get gift cards, they can go shopping, feel like they are shopping like normal,” Wasson said. “Even if it is cash, we'll take it and turn it into a gift card. We'll get (clients) to the store to shop.”

Wasson said VOICe takes in families as clients, and the agency helps get Christmas gifts for every member of a client family. VOICe also has a wish list on Amazon.com, which lets people buy supplies that can be shipped directly to VOICe. Clients can also build wish lists through VOICe, which help get them supplies they need confidentially.

“If they want to adopt, they call me. It's all confidential; they are numbered one to 500,” Wasson said. “As a nonprofit, we take all the help we can get.”

To donate to VOICe, contact Wasson by calling 724-283-8700, ext. 305.

The Butler County Humane Society makes a push for donations at the end of each year, because the agency is already making financial plans for the coming year.

Cari Ciancio, director of the Butler County Humane Society, said the agency gets a lot of donations of supplies, which is always helpful, but monetary donations help offer the nonprofit flexibility.

“Primarily, it's a really nice way to set us up for the new year, also buy any supplies, anything building-wise or anything for the animals,” Ciancio said. “If we don't have to buy all that cleaning supplies or food, that is money we don't have to spend. We're certainly appreciative of any of those things as well.”

People can also lend a hand to the humane society by visiting with its animals to socialize them.

“Even to swing by and spend time and volunteer with our animals and giving them that socialization time, that helps keep their stress levels down, that helps get them out faster,” Ciancio said.

Ciancio said every time the humane society makes a social media post about items it needs, the community has come out in full force to fill those needs. She said people donating to animals in that way is always touching.

“They're sending in donations to animals they have never even met, they have never even laid eyes on,” Ciancio said. “That to me is just the definition of generosity.”

To donate to the Butler County Humane Society, visit its website at butlercountyhs.org.

The Grapevine Center takes in food donations, which are given out at the drop-in center on North Elm Street, and also new clothing for clients in need. The agency provides services to people with mental illness, addiction issues and people who are homeless in the area.

Sue Funk, a support peer at the Grapevine Center, said the agency has a community dinner every Sunday organized by “the church ladies,” but food can be distributed to Grapevine clients at any time.

“Food is always welcome, any kind of food,” Funk said. “Frozen food to canned food to boxed food.”

Funk also said clothing items given to the center must still have tags on them to be acceptable. Donations can be dropped off at the Grapevine Center at 140 N. Elm St., Butler.

Major Darlene Means, of the Salvation Army Butler Corps, said the organization has Angel Trees in Sam’s Club, Walmart and Boscov’s, which have tags people can take to buy specific items for specific people in need.

“They just go take a tag off the tree, purchase the gift; they can either take it back to the store, or take them to the Salvation Army,” Means said. “We have close to around 300 people between seniors and kids.”

According to Means, the Butler Salvation Army takes applications from people to be added to the Angel Trees, and the organization is still accepting them, but applicants are not guaranteed to be added to the trees this season.

Angel Tree donations have to be in by Dec. 8, and the Salvation Army will continue its Red Kettle Campaign at storefronts around the region through Christmas.

Early in November, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania mailed notices to people in the region asking for donations that will be used to fund local agencies.

Amy Franz, Butler region director of the United Way, said financial donations are the best way to help the United Way, because it funds other organizations that may have specific missions that money can be used for.

“The money contributed goes to our impact fund or one of our investment priority areas,” Franz said. “There are so many organizations out there doing such good work. If you don't have a particular organization that touches your heart, when you support the United Way, we know the initiatives and put the dollars in places in need.”

Franz also said the organization keeps consistent contact with previous donors, but also tries to get donations from new people by emphasizing that the money given stays in the five counties the Southwestern Pennsylvania United Way serves.

“If someone skips a year, it's harder to get them back the following year,” she said. “We see an uptick in smaller donations for people learning about United Way for the first time.”

To donate to the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, visit its website at uwswpa.org.