November is here and very soon it’ll be Thanksgiving day. We hope you all have a good time with your loved ones, but before we start changing gears into Christmas mode, there is another quite special day coming up next week: Giving Tuesday.
This recent holiday was created 9 years ago from a partnership between Mashable, Skype, and Cisco. Now a non-profit on its own, Giving Tuesday’s movement has the goal of, in their own words, “unleashing the power of radical generosity around the world”.
The idea behind is that every year, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, we begin the holiday season by giving back to their community. Whether it is donating money or volunteering, the main goal is to give and help others. So for this post, I researched organizations whose mission is to spread the joy of celebration to those in need.
There are so many kids out there who have never even had a birthday party of their own and it just breaks my heart to even think about it. If you’d like to help with this cause, here’s the list I put together.
Birthday Dreams helps children in shelters, foster care group homes, or homeless in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties celebrate their special day with cake, presents and fun. You can support them by making monetary donations; putting together or delivering birthday boxes; baking a cake; helping wrap gifts; writing cards; setting up events; buying gifts from their Amazon Wishlist; and a lot more.
The Birthday Party Project organizes group birthday parties for kids experiencing homelessness in over 10 states across the country. You can donate money directly or buy something for their online shop to help them financially. Or you can also support them by volunteering at the parties interacting with the kids and singing happy birthday “loud and proud”.
The Confetti Foundation throws birthday parties for hospitalized children helping them create positive memories, and have some sense of normalcy during a difficult time. Besides financial donations and birthday boxes, you can help them by printing and sending out birthday banners, cards and bookmarks or volunteering as a birthday fairy or birthday hero, act as a facilitator between the Foundation and the hospital, delivering the birthday boxes and raise awareness about their mission. On top of that, the founder, Stephanie, throws huge parties at hospitals across the US during the year so kids can also have the collective experience. Click here to see amazing pics of happy kids.
Kids Can Give Too offers an online invitation service with a generous twist: guests RSVP and give a monetary gift that the birthday girl or boy will split with the charity of their choice. They get a donation and the kid gets a gift card to pick out a special present. This is an amazing way of getting kids involved with giving back to the community and it gives them a chance to think about what causes they identify with.
Other ways to help
If you have the means to help even more this year, these non-profits below are local and have a tremendous and necessary impact in our community here in WA.
Wellspring Family Services: since 1892, this non profit has been helping individuals and families experiencing crisis to connect with services they need to regain and maintain stability for themselves, whether it’s housing, counseling, employment, education, food or clothes.
Evergreen Goodwill : formerly known as Seattle Goodwill, they retail donated goods to fund free job training and education programs for the community. I volunteered at their Philanthropy department for over 2 years and have seen up close the major impact they make. You cannot go wrong by supporting them and their mission.
Mary’s Place: Across 5 different locations in King County, Mary’s Place is a lot more than a shelter. They work with the residing families to empower parents to regain the stability, secure housing and employment so their kids can get an education and prosper. Their main principle is that no one’s child should sleep outside. There are tons of ways to help them including holding donation drive themed parties.
Giving is about kindness
But remember: Giving Tuesday’s philosophy goes beyond the traditional concept of donation. You can be charitable even if you’re short on money or can’t commit to a volunteer position somewhere. Here are a few ideas on how you can join the movement and forward the cause:
Get the word out: you can find free Giving Tuesday templates on Canva to help you raise awareness.
Write to lonely elders: founded in 2013, this non-profit is on a mission to reduce ageism and elders’ importance in our society.
Set up a free pantry in your neighborhood: join this movement that started in 2016 in Arkansas, to help neighbors in need.
More ideas:
‣ Offer to pick up supplies for a neighbor if you’re going to the store.
‣ Help with yard work or other chores for those who are ill, elderly, or immunocompromised.
‣ Send a gift card for food to your fire and paramedic station.
‣ Write thank-you notes to doctors and nurses.
‣ Post a sign for your postal worker and sanitation crew.
Finally, you can always consider organizing donation runs among your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. You might not be able to give something concrete right now but by making the effort of connecting donors to institutions, you are certainly making a big impact in the community.