As I was researching Giving Tuesday to write this blog, I saw this slogan and it really struck a chord with me. “Everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts.” I think that we all have something we can give. Some prefer to give of their money, some prefer to give material things, and some prefer to give of their time. Whatever it is you can offer to someone else, that “something” could help change someone’s life for the better. How powerful is that!

So, what is Giving Tuesday, and why is it so important? Well, Giving Tuesday began back in 2012 and quickly became a global event. The idea was to unleash the power of radical generosity. It was a day that encouraged people to, ‘do good’. In the last decade it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, to collaborate, and to celebrate generosity. The idea is simple. Make someone smile, help a neighbor, colleague or even a stranger, show up for an issue you might care about, give something that you have to those in need – the possibilities are endless, but in the end, every act of generosity however big or little counts. Every single one of us, young or old has something that we can give to make the world we inhabit and live in a better place.

Giving Tuesday this year is on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022. So, what can you do to help? Well, I have listed some ideas below to get your creative generosity juices flowing!

Support your local community food pantry: The past two years have been tough on all of us financially. Inflation is at an all-time high across the globe. The pandemic has caused many to lose their jobs and money is tight. People are relying more and more on food banks and pantries to support those in their local communities. Perhaps when you go to the supermarket, you can add an extra tin of food or packet of pasta into your shopping basket and donate that to your local food pantry. The Holiday season is coming rapidly and many around our local communities may not be able to have the kind of Holiday celebrations that they normally have. If we all add in just an extra couple of items, those pantries will be overflowing to help those in need.

Reach out to a neighbor, relative, senior, or veteran: Loneliness can be worse than an illness especially at this time of the year. For some, they spend the Holiday’s by themselves, whether it is due to illness, losing their partner, their family being hundreds or thousands of miles away, or because they are homeless. At one point in our lives, we all had a family, yet for some, we lose that family. Think about reaching out to your elderly neighbor and inviting them for a cup of tea and a chat. Send an email or pick up the phone to that relative to lives in a group home or across the country. Go to the veteran’s organizations and sit with a veteran – (most of them have amazing stories to tell!) Ultimately, just put a smile on someone’s face by reaching out to them and making them feel wanted. After all, feeling wanted is the most basic need in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs!

Give to organizations who appeal to you: I think deep down, we all have a cause that we care passionately about. Time pressures of daily life often stop us from pursuing those causes. This November 29th, take a little time out of your day and research or give to an organization that matches what you believe in. Whether climate change, helping the needy, cleaning a local beach – the list goes on, take a little time and give to that organization. If you don’t have the time but have the financial resources, maybe give some money to that organization of your choice. As a veteran myself, I choose to give my time with my local veteran’s organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the VFW. In the Post where I help, there are two veterans still alive from World War Two. Now THEY have some stories to tell! The youngest WW2 veteran is 95 years old. They won’t be around too much longer, so it is important to hear their stories. Whatever organization you want to give your time to, I can almost guarantee, they will welcome you with open arms. Time, after all, is the most precious gift that we can give.

Give Gratitude: There are those in our communities, the silent, unsung heroes who toil for us day in and day out. The mail delivery person who is getting your parcels and mail to you in a raging snowstorm, a police officer who walks into danger when others are running away, a firefighter who puts their life on the line by entering a burning building and the nurse who holds the hand of a dying patient as they take their final breaths. All these and many more deserve our gratitude and thanks. Make a sign and put it on your mailbox for the mail delivery person, take a couple of boxes of pizza to the police station one evening, or to the local fire house, send a gift card to a local restaurant to your local hospital. It doesn’t matter what you do, it matters that you do it. Saying “Thank You” can put a smile on a face and that is all that matters.

Give Blood: If you have never given blood, maybe think about contacting your local Red Cross and seeing if you are able to. The blood in our bodies is our lifeline. How powerful it could be to give that lifeline to someone else who needs it. This time of year, blood banks are notoriously low. Your pint of blood could help save a life.

Give of Your Skills: Do you know how to knit or crochet? Are you a wonder at carpentry or painting? Do you love being behind the wheel of a car? The list is endless. We are all good and have a skill at something. If you knit, maybe teach someone how to knit and then make some hats for those in need. Maybe an elderly neighbor needs some repair work done in their house or apartment. Perhaps a sick friend or neighbor needs a ride to a doctor’s appointment or to the supermarket. Think about donating of your skills. I am still privileged to be able to fly airplanes and was able to take a friends daughter flying recently. It is her dream to become a commercial airline pilot and I hope that the smile on her face as we were flying translates into a wonderful career in the air.

Giving Tuesday is limited only by your imagination and determination to do something. This coming Giving Tuesday, choose to give.

I hope that this Blog has given you a few ideas on how you can give back this coming Tuesday, November 29th, 2022. For more ideas visit: https://www.givingtuesday.org/united-states/ideas/