Today is Giving Tuesday. You may have heard about this one- local radio stations in my area have been promoting this fairly heavily. The idea sprung from a joint project of a New York City based YMCA and a United Nations group in 2012 as a way to highlight charitable giving and was promoted heavily on Mashable. It has mushroomed in the years since, with large corporations such as eBay and Sony getting involved with both giving themselves and promoting giving by others. There is a hashtag (of course) #GivingTuesday that you can search for information, or to share the word with your friends and family.
There are many great charities that you can support today. Certainly writing a check is one way to help, but it’s far from the only way. You can organize a fundraiser at your work to raise money for the organization of your choice. You can donate gently used clothing or toys your kids have outgrown to a local woman’s shelter. You can go to an animal shelter and walk dogs. You can sign up for a charitable walk/ run to raise money and awareness to a cause that’s dear to you. You can donate blood. You can share a plate of cookies with that neighbor who has trouble getting around, or who is struggling some other way right now. No matter where you live there are volunteer opportunities close to you to help with anything from reading to kids to manning a food bank to snow removal. So go find the one that speaks to you and do the right thing.