I’ll admit, I was a little sceptical of the idea. Although it’s been around for a while, it is a fairly recent thing. Giving Tuesday.
The idea started about 2011, but never really took off until the following year. In 2012, the 92nd Street Y in New York came up with the idea of a day of giving. People had just been through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so the idea was to remind people of the many who are in need.
The concept of Giving Tuesday was launched with just a few charities involved, but has grown to be a special day in over ninety countries. There are almost sixty organizations in Canada who participate. And they expect over fifty million dollars to be donated in Canada alone.
But Giving Tuesday is a pretty wide ranging thing. It can involve a cash donation. Or a donation or a physical item. Or it could just be a good deed done for someone.
Like maybe a neighbour could use having their leaves raked. Or maybe they need a package dropped off or picked up.
There are a lot of ways to give and a lot of people that could use a bit of help.
While Giving Tuesday is a day to focus on such things, the season is full of opportunities to help others. If you don’t find a way to help out today, there are sure to be lots of opportunities in the coming weeks.
You are quite likely to find local food drives and toy drives over the next few days. And that Salvation Army kettle campaign can always use a bit of help.
Please do what you can.