The Holiday season is upon us!

We’ve stuffed our faces with Thanksgiving Turkey, we’ve scored some sweet Black Friday deals, and hopefully now we’re thinking about ways we can start to give back to the humans around us.

Giving Tuesday is the perfect day for giving back: “We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back.”

What a straightforward and brilliant idea!

Giving Tuesday is a day to get the whole world excited about making a difference in the lives of your fellow humans. From major acts of giving like monetary donations to any number of charitable organizations, to smaller acts like donating clothes you no longer wear to the Salvation Army. Giving Tuesday is a day for caring about the lives of others around you.

It is in the name of the Holiday Season, but how about just because you truly care as well?

My wish is that we could make Giving Tuesday as easily recognizable as Black Friday! Can you imagine the impact we could have on the world if every person who went Black Friday crazy also decided to pitch in even five dollars to the charity of their choice?

In 2013 an estimated 92 million people ventured out against the crowds and traffic to score the desirable Black Friday deals. Now I am terrible at math, but I can tell you that if all of those people were to donate even a tiny portion of the money they spent we would make a lot of less fortunate people in the world very grateful!

This is the third year for Giving Tuesday and I am so happy that it seems like it is here to stay! The Holidays are a time for sharing and loving one another, and the more we celebrate this fact as a nation (or even a globe) the more it will drive this point home.

The Holidays were never meant to be about fighting over big screen TVs at midnight or chugging Starbucks coffee to drive from mall to mall buying toys for your kids.

With stores opening earlier and earlier, and the frenzy of holiday shopping becoming an more acceptable I fear that we will lose the cozy loving side of the holidays without programs like Giving Tuesday.

I am a part of a small non-profit organization and I know that we thrive on occasions like Giving Tuesday to remind people that every tiny donation can make a huge difference. While people are busy snatching up laptop computers for $200 telling me that they don’t have change to spare to help us support a feeding program for vulnerable school children in Kenya it hurts my heart.

Just five dollars will feed a child for a whole month.

Giving Tuesday is about being selfless (or #UNselfie) as those supporting Giving Tuesday are calling it) and remembering that every small act of kindness brings a smile to someone else’s face. Whenever we make a donation to someone trying to help change the world you have done your part!

Then we can encourage others to do the same. Before we know it we have created a snowball effect and people everywhere will be paying it forward.

Here are several ways to give back on Giving Tuesday, December 2, 2014:

· Make a monetary donation to a non-profit organization for the cause of your choice.

· Volunteer your time with a local organization. Your time is equally as valuable as your cash.

· Raise awareness about something you believe in! Simply bringing a cause to people’s awareness can be a huge step forward. How can people help change a problem they don’t know exists?

· Go out of your way to bring a smile to a strangers face. Giving Tuesday is about giving, but it’s also about bonding with your fellow humans.

· Spread the world about Giving Tuesday! Tag any social media posts with #GivingTuesday and #UNselfie to help gain awareness for this day!

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Author: Portia Duke

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Jordan Wooley at Flickr