No money? No problem. Here are 4 ways to give back without opening your wallet

By Ashley Vaughan, CNN

It’s the season of giving!

Even if you are low on funds, you can still make an impact.

Here are four ways you can spread goodwill during the holidays without spending a dime.

The gift of life

The American Red Cross is experiencing its worst blood shortage in more than a decade, forcing patients to delay much-needed surgeries like organ transplants. On its website, the American Red Cross features a ZIP code finder to locate blood donation centers close to home.

The gift of sight

The app Be My Eyes allows sighted individuals to lend their vision to blind people. The app offers a live video feature enabling volunteers to offer support on tasks like distinguishing colors, exploring new spaces and checking expiration dates. Be My Eyes boasts a community of more than 5 million volunteers. The app is put to use in more than 150 countries.

The gift of spoken voice

Through the power of artificial intelligence, VocaliD gives people with prosthetic voices unique vocal qualities that reflect their personalities. Through the organization’s human voicebank, individuals use easy-to-follow prompts to record their voices. Diversity of submissions is important to meet needs spanning race, gender, and age.

The gift of expertise

With Catchafire, you can match your professional skills with local and global volunteer opportunities. On its website, donors can browse volunteer projects according to interest, cause, availability, and expertise. Many of the requested skills may already align with tasks performed within one’s day-to-day job. The volunteer projects are virtual and can be performed from the comfort of home.

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