Giving Tuesday: Let It Begin With You

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, one of my posts dealt with helping out the community. Besides the immediate need for donations, I wrote of the continued support for charitable agencies faced with overwhelming obstacles this year. Well, it's time to get serious.


Today is Giving Tuesday.

GivingTuesday is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.

While a national campaign to help those in need is a wonderful thing, we can all find ways to help out our own communities. For the past two years I've promoted an easy way to do this.

"Feed Others, Then Yourself"

As you send out invitations to your corporate holiday party, include one line:
Please bring non-perishable food items for donation to a local food pantry.

Simple. If your company is big, talk to Human Resources or whomever is in charge of the event. Send an email, send a letter, get it done. Then, take it a step beyond the company party. Teach your children the power of individual action by asking friends and relatives visiting your home, to bring a donation.

If you own a small business in town, put a sign in your window saying you are accepting donations for a food bank. Encourage your childs school to hold a food drive. It doesn't take much to get the ball rolling.

If the idea of lugging a box full of dry goods doesn't appeal to you, consider collecting hats, gloves, socks and scarves for those who face a cold winter. When the hurricane hit on the east coast, so many families left their homes with just the clothes on their backs, and winter is almost here. Warm clothes should not be a luxury. Collect toys; far too many children won't be having anything close to a real Christmas this year.

Today is the day it all begins. Please forward this post to as many people as you can. Check out the Giving Tuesday website for other ways to help, or think of one on your own.

Just do something. 
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This Year, Let Charity Begin At Your Holiday Party

As the holiday party season comes into full swing, totalhomesupply.com has initiated a way to help the needy while still enjoying the spirit of the holidays. Hunger knows no season, and current economic conditions have left food pantries in dire need of donations. Total Home Supply is encouraging companies across the country to collect non-perishable goods at their annual holiday get-together and donate them to local food charities.

§ Talk to your party coordinator about setting up a box or a table where partygoers would be able to leave their donations. Ask them to email everyone who will attend the party about the food drive being held at the party. Have volunteers in place beforehand to remove the donations from the party for delivery to the chosen food pantry.

§ Animal shelters and pet pantries are also in desperate need. With the down economy, pet shelters are overwhelmed with family pets that have become too costly to keep. Some local communities have created pet pantries, where families receive donations of pet food and supplies, making it possible for the animals to remain in their homes, not end up in a shelter where their fate is undetermined. If your company is animal friendly, consider accepting donations for a local animal charity.

§ Most communities are also in the process of having coat drives for the homeless. Collecting warm winter coats at your party is another way of incorporating a charitable act into a night of fun and celebration.

§ If the idea of dealing with coats, cans of food or bags of kitty litter is not something your company can handle, there is always the donation jar. For charities, cash is a commodity always in short supply.

So, in the next few days, we invite you to send this blog post to anyone and everyone you know. If we can get even 10% of the people who read this to initiate a food drive at their holiday party, think of all the families that will be helped by this small act of kindness.

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Social Networkers: Use Facebook and MySpace to spread the idea:

Encourage your company to accept food items at your holiday party for donation to local food pantries. Click on the link below for details.

“Feed the hungry, then yourself: Make your holiday party a pay it forward event.”

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There is no greater feeling than helping one another. Begin this holiday season with a charitable act where so little can help so many.