Supporting your favorite Island nonprofit doesn’t have to involve big bucks. There are plenty of budget-friendly (and just plain fun) ways to get in on the giving.

Check out the ones we’ve gathered here, and if you don’t see something from your favorite organization give them a shout.

Sarah Kuh has a passion for public health. And she’ll help you get that insurance coverage you need.

Vineyard nonprofits harness the power of collaboration to bring Islanders help, hope and resources.

Combat the winter wearies with art and cooking classes, beauty boosts and self-care.

"Only Connect!" If I were the kind of person who could commit to literary-inspired tattoos, this epigraph from E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel Howard’s End might be my choice. As someone who spent a great deal of time pre-pandemic thinking and talking about the importance of real-life connection – The Oyster began as a sort of in-person social survival network for young adults looking for things to do in the off-season –the prolonged periods of quarantine we’ve all had to endure in the name of public safety has felt not just personally devastating but also professionally confusing. How can I encourage social and personal connection as a strategy for emotional well-being from six feet apart? How do we reconcile caring both for our community and our own mental health? And how many days in a row can I possibly work from home wearing pajama pants without officially becoming what one friend calls a “pajama pants person?”

These are the questions that keep me up at night. And since we’re (still, STILL) surviving a pandemic, I recently did what any self-respecting person with a smart phone would do, and I asked Instagram for advice. I wondered– in the form of several stories and some targeted emails and DMs –in the absence of our regular off-season survival tactics (potlucks, movie nights, raucous nights downtown) what are people doing to stay connected, engaged and reasonably happy, during this, the second full winter of our collective discontent?