GivingTuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This day was created to simply inspire kindness. Read on to see how you can get involved in Giving Tuesday this year and beyond.

What Is Giving Tuesday

As a team we were talking in our weekly meeting about giving back. I mean, we are a company that is centered around giving back, every single partnership we do has a giving back component. We are a cause marketing company. We wake up every day with a desire to help others. We consider it an honor to be able to help local food banks, to help our communities. It makes our hearts full to know we are helping others. It’s who we are. It’s what we do. It’s what we love.

Giving Tuesday

But what else could we do? What else can we do?

And those questions got us talking about Giving Tuesday. Each year we participate in Giving Tuesday. We focus on helping others and trying to spread kindness and generosity through our little part of the web and beyond. This year we want to share what exactly Giving Tuesday is, I mean, sure we have all heard the phrase, but do know what exactly Giving Tuesday is and why you should participate? How exactly do you participate? Can you participate in Giving Tuesday if you don’t have extra funds right now? What if you can’t go somewhere to volunteer? Well, we are going to answer all those questions for you plus give you a list of ideas on how you can be a part of Giving Tuesday. In fact, each suggestion was brainstormed by our team here and on a podcast, so if you have some more ideas, feel free to share them, we would love to add them to the list!

Ways to get involved in Giving Tuesday

What exactly is GivingTuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that was created in 2012 to inspire people to do good. It now inspires hundreds of millions of people around the world to do just that…do good. What your definition of “doing good” is truly up to you. It can be as simple as making someone smile or helping a stranger with their groceries.

Every act of generosity counts.

When is GivingTuesday?

GivingTuesday is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In 2021 GivingTuesday will be on November 30th and in 2022 GivingTuesday will be on November 29th.

Giving Tuesday Volunteer Ideas

Ways To Get Involved In Giving Tuesday

Before I get into our detailed list with ideas on how to get involved in Giving Tuesday that will hopefully inspire you, I wanted to reiterate that simply smiling is a wonderful way to get involved in Giving Tuesday. Smiles are contagious and I, personally, don’t think we see enough of them when we are out and about, so I encourage each and every one of you to smile. Smile on Giving Tuesday. Make someone smile on Giving Tuesday. Smile everyday. Smile often. Smile at someone. Be someone’s reason to smile. And you know what, smiles are free 😉 And 100% appreciated.

Ok, now onto our list on ways to do good this Giving Tuesday (and beyond!).

  1. Write a letter with your child in support of an organization you love. This is a great way to advocate for something you believe in. It’s also a great activity that you can do with the kids. Many have guides on their sites like this one from RailstoTrails.org
  2. Donate your professional skills. Answer questions, brainstorm ideas, no matter your skill, someone would be appreciative of your expertise. Learn more at CatchAFire.org
  3. Visit someone! There are many that are hospitalized, homebound, or hospitalized that rarely (or never) get visitors. Simply giving the gift of time to someone that is lonely is a great way to spread joy. Not sure who to visit? Can the establishment where you would like to go and ask who rarely gets visitors.
  4. Points Of Light is a volunteer organization that has virtual volunteer opportunities. You can narrow down the opportunities by area as well.
  5. Table Wisdom brings you together via video conference with someone who may be feeling isolated because of social distancing. Sometimes we all just need a little human connection,even if it is over video.
  6. Be My Eyes is just as it sounds, the organization connects people who can see with people who are visually challenged to help with everyday tasks.
  7. Read a bedtime story to some of the neighborhood kids. Organize a Zoom call and ask people to sign up to be nightly readers. Parents in your neighborhood will appreciate a little bit of a break and kids will love sharing story time with friends.
  8. Cards for a Cause – Give the gift of good vibes by crafting a handmade card with an uplifting message for a sick or injured child—a small, but meaningful gesture that will bring a lot of joy to a young person who needs and deserves it.
  9. Oakwood Educational Foundation – Connects under-served youth with volunteer tutors who can inspire a love of learning while helping bridge the achievement gap. 
  10. Kids Circle Foundation – High school volunteers can choose the type of work they want to get involved in, whether it’s writing letters of encouragement to children in the hospital, helping younger kids with their homework as a virtual tutor or contributing to the foundation’s efforts from behind the scenes as a member of the social media, graphic design, web development or outreach team.
  11. Translators Without Borders – This organization relies on volunteers to translate a wide array of texts relating to humanitarian initiatives in the areas of crisis management, advocacy, development and more. 
  12. Maternity Care Coalition – Raise funds by holding a bake sale or corporate dress down day. Sponsor a drive to collect needed items. Celebrate a baby shower where the items are donated to expectant mothers. Provide transport support for pick up/ delivery of items. 
  13. American Red Cross – Enter your zip code and find a blood drive near you. 
  14. Smithsonian Digital Volunteers – Several digital opportunities to help and do some research for the Smithsonian. This may be a cool project for high schooler. 
  15. DoSomething.org – Lots of opportunities from helping someone to register to vote, donating clothes, to recycling.  
  16. Letters Against – Opportunity for parents and teens to write letters to people all over the globe who are battling depression or mental illness. Letters are one page and upbeat, positive and deliver a “you are not alone” + “you matter” message .
  17. Color a Smile – Color a sheet with crayons or markers and mail it to the Color A Smile team, which will give it to seniors, troops and others in need of smiles.
  18. Student Conservation Association – Volunteer to be more eco-friendly by creating a pollinator habit, reducing your energy use or building a garden.
  19. Charity Miles – Encourage families to get out and exercise for a cause.
  20. Adopt A Teacher – Wishing Well This is completely inclusive of all education programs. They welcome anyone working to improve the education of our youth including public and private school teachers and schools, early head start and head start, school-wide campaigns, PTAs, day care centers, religious affiliate education programs, after-school programs, Y’s, Boys and Girls Clubs, and many more.
Giving Tuesday Ideas

Looking for ways to volunteer in-person?

Here are 10 locations that would love to have you help! Use these as inspiration.

  1. Animal shelters
  2. Hospitals
  3. Schools
  4. Soup Kitchens
  5. Food Banks
  6. Churches
  7. Pregnancy Help Centers
  8. Women’s Shelters
  9. Assisted Living Facilities
  10. Meals On Wheels

Learn more about Giving Tuesday

Need more ideas? We got together as a team and chatted about how to get the kids involved in volunteering on Episode 73 of the Healthy Family Project Podcast.

30+ Ways To Get Involved On Giving Tuesday

I hope we’ve inspired you to do good. On Giving Tuesday or any day. It’s never a bad idea to do good 🙂