WHAT IS #GIVINGTUESDAY?
We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving.
So, how can you participate? It’s easy! Find someone to give back to. Shovel your elderly neighbor’s driveway, provide a meal to someone going through a hardship, donate your time at your local food pantry – any good deed that you do is giving back to someone who needs your help! Not sure who you can help around you? How about choosing one of these people who need your help?
Give to:
Baby Shane’s fight for cancer.
Caroline Sunshine’s Cancer Fund
Shaefali’s Prosthetics Fund
Kare4Kristy help for a young mom’s family who fell into a coma after giving birth
So many times we see a story on the news or hear about a tragedy in our home town and we feel bad – not knowing how to help or feel that someone else will help instead. But, we can make a difference. Every little bit helps! That’s where GiveForward comes into play. You can help someone out by creating a GiveForward account where friends, family and even strangers can come, read about a need and give freely and securely. And it’s easy to get started!
A year ago, when a bomb exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon this nation made a collective decision that we were not going to be bystanders. Ariana Vargas was one of these people. Ariana had attended Boston College for undergrad and when the bomb hit, word spread quickly that one of her BC classmates Patrick Downes and his new wife Jessica had each lost a leg in the explosion. Over the course of their lifetimes, their injuries would cost them nearly $1million. Whispers were going around between BC alumni asking what they could do to help but no one was sure what to do or who should step up. Without hesitating, Ariana who hadn’t stayed in touch with Patrick since graduating, started a GiveForward page. Word spread quickly and within a few weeks, tens of thousands of people from around the country had contributed close to $900,000 and left thousands of comments on Patrick and Jessica’s GiveForward page letting them know that they were loved and that they weren’t alone. It was magical, the kind of experience that makes you realize that we live in a world filled with wonderful people.
Today, with the help of thousands around the world, Patrick and Jessica are on their way to recovery and will be able to live without the stress and burden of medical debt for the rest of their lives.
If Ariana had decided to be a bystander that day, none of this would have happened.
Make a difference today – whether big or small. Do something to help someone in need. You can make a difference.
Leave a Reply