Throughout the year, the Yahoo! Employee Foundation (YEF) helps Yahoos to have a bigger impact on the causes they care about through volunteering, championing a grant, or donating. As the holiday season approaches, YEF chapters across the U.S. look for special ways to help Yahoos make a difference in their communities.

Each office takes a unique approach to giving back around the holidays. Here’s a look at some of the great work the YEF chapters have done this season to spread cheer.

At the headquarters in Sunnyvale, Yahoo! held its 2011 Holiday Wish Drive to help over 250 Bay Area social service agencies deliver gifts to children and seniors in need this season. The drive was a huge success: 369 gifts, not including online and monetary donations, were contributed by December 14.

The Omaha, Nebraska office pulled together to help at-risk children by collecting donations for a non-profit throwing a New Year’s Eve party for the kids who stay on their campus over the holidays. The Omaha office’s contribution will make a big difference in giving deserving kids a memorable New Year’s Eve.

In New York City, Yahoos contributed to a canned food drive which ran from November 21 through December 15. Donations went to the city’s major hunger-relief organization serving the five boroughs and helping to provide 400,000 free meals a day. With the help of Yahoo! this holiday season, food will be distributed to a network of approximately 1,000 community-based member programs citywide.

The Champaign, Illinois office held its Holiday Wish List drive from November 28-December 15, collecting gifts for children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral disabilities. This is Champaign’s fifth year participating in a holiday wish list drive.

A food drive was held in November in Hillsboro, Oregon to benefit a nearby food bank. In December, the focus moved to a letter writing and item drive to contribute to care packages sent to U.S. Service Members deployed around the world as well as to their children and veterans. The mission is to lift morale and express appreciation and support to our troops. Hillsboro Yahoos have been participating in the letter writing campaign for over a year, and added the item drive over the holidays.

The Burbank, California office is also participating in a letter writing drive for care packages sent to members of the armed forces serving around the world. In addition, a turkey drive on November 16 and 17 collected frozen turkeys and grocery store gift cards. The Little & BIG Yahoos Swap, which took place on November 29, collected items for Little Yahoos in need including clothing, books, games, and toys, and items for Big Yahoos including kitchenware, home and garden items, and electronics. And finally, the Holiday Collection Drive began on November 14 and runs through December 22 to collect toys, athletic socks for the homeless, and non-perishable food.

Last but not least, a toy drive is being held in Boston for a local anti-poverty agency, helping to collect toys that are distributed to thousands of under-privileged children in the Boston area. Boston Yahoos also participated in the toy drive last year, providing roughly 100 wrapped toys.

Through projects like these organized by dedicated YEF chapters around the country, and the generous donations made by Yahoos in each location, Yahoo! is working to spread holiday cheer far outside the office walls.