Get Involved: 10 Easy Ways to Participate in Giving Tuesday Today!
Looking to participate in Giving Tuesday this year? Here are simple ways to give back!
Want to give back this holiday season?
Thanksgiving day is followed by some noteworthy days; in addition to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, there’s a lesser-known national day called Giving Tuesday. Taking place this year on November 28th, Giving Tuesday is a “global generosity movement”!
It’s the perfect time to pause from the holiday chaos and reflect on ways you can serve your community. Through kindness and generosity, Giving Tuesday encourages us to do some good in the world, which hopefully leads to acts of service beyond this day! The site offers countless ways to get involved with your community and country, and the global movement includes a handful of international countries, as well.
From donating to a food drive to helping out with local charities and non-profits, there are endless participation options for Giving Tuesday, including ways to help from the comfort of your own home.
Many big companies will also be sharing in the holiday spirit. Last year, brands including Disney, Instacart, Anthropologie, Josie Maran, and more participated in Giving Tuesday. We can’t wait to see who joins in this year!
Don’t forget to look for #GivingTuesday on social media to see how others are helping out!
Here are 10 easy ways to participate in Giving Tuesday 2023…
1. Distribute some “Blessing Bags“!
Those affected by homelessness may be struggling to access essential items we take for granted every day. Because of this, a great way to give back is by making some blessing bags full of things like snacks, deodorant, socks, and more. We have an entire post on what items we’ve used in the past if you need ideas to get started.
If you aren’t giving them out directly, consider reaching out to a local charity, church, or organization that will graciously distribute these on your behalf!
2. Create a care package for your local delivery drivers!
Throughout the next month or so, we imagine you’ll be getting tons of deliveries. Whether it’s a few a week or every day, delivery drivers from Amazon, UPS, USPS, FedEx, and more work around the clock during the holiday season to guarantee your gift arrives on time.
Because of this, why not express a little appreciation? We have a holiday (and year-round) printable thanking delivery drivers for their hard work. Along with the printable, we put together a basket full of snacks and beverages to show a little appreciation. The reactions are always super heartwarming. What better time to start than Giving Tuesday?
3. Support our teachers through Donors Choose!
One of our readers, Cheryl, reached out to us and brought our attention to DonorsChoose.com. This amazing website helps teachers raise funds to gather school supplies and other classroom essentials. Every dollar counts when it comes to supporting these educators. If you’re interested, Donors Choose even offers a monthly donation where you can support a different cause each month!
We trust teachers with the future of our youth, and many usually end up using their own money to get materials for the classroom. If there’s anything we can do to help, we are all in! Plus, every dollar you donate is matched between 50% – 100%, so it’s extra valuable!
4. Play Santa to a family in need.
Every year, the USPS hosts Operation Santa and invites families in need to submit holiday wishlists. You can adopt these letters and fulfill their Christmas wishes. Operation Santa is currently underway and there is still time to register. There is no better time to sign up than on Giving Tuesday! Your small act of kindness may just provide someone a joyful lifetime memory.
5. Consider donating blood.
If you’re not afraid of needles, donating blood can be one of the best ways to give back. You may not realize how many people can be impacted and benefited from blood donations; they can save lives!
Many blood drives are advertised right outside of the facility collecting donations, but you can always check out the Red Cross website to find a drive near you.
6. Spread some kind words!
You may not realize this at the moment, but the power of kindness goes a long way. Whether it’s a simple smile or writing some sweet messages, this can really change the trajectory of someone’s day in the best way. We love these DIY kindness rocks that are a great craft idea to make with the family!
7. Uplift a soldier.
There are many organizations working to help our armed forces. One of these organizations is Operation Gratitude. This well-known non-profit gets a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and has been in operation for 20 years. Through them, you can write a letter of gratitude to a soldier or even send a soldier a care package.
In addition to Operation Gratitude, there are several non-profit retreats aimed at providing FREE rest, relaxation, and healing to active-duty soldiers, veterans, and their families. Consider donating to one of these retreats or sharing their information with someone who could benefit.
8. Pay it forward!
Waiting in a drive-through line? Consider paying for not only your order but the person behind you, too! There’s no better feeling than being on the receiving end of this, and it usually starts a giving train that lasts for dozens of people.
9. Donate your old LEGO toys to children’s non-profits.
Back in 2019, LEGO launched a new initiative called LEGO Replay. The program allows you to donate your old LEGO bricks to children’s non-profit organizations. All you have to do is pack a box, print the free label, and send the bricks to LEGO. Since inception, more than 146,000 boxes have been donated and over 300,000 kids have received the donated bricks.
10. Participate in a food or clothing drive.
Following Thanksgiving, there may be a handful of canned foods that you didn’t use. We made a list of the best food item donations. Take a look through your pantry and consider collecting these items and donating them to a local shelter or food drive.
Similarly, when purging your closet, never throw away those clothes! Clothing donations are always in need; something as simple as stopping by Good Will is a small way to make a big difference.
The list goes on!
We have a post about random acts of kindness, and now is the perfect time to use it as inspiration for Giving Tuesday! It’s easy to get overwhelmed during the holiday season, but days like this remind us of what is really important. Even if you miss out on Tuesday, who is to say you can’t try something kind every day? ❤️
Check out Lina’s Pay It Forward Printable!
I did a few for you, then i noticed your name 😜 so i did a few more 😉. 🦃🦃
Yay!!! Thanks so much Kerri!!
Consider donating to your local animal rescue. I work at a cat rescue, and we appreciate every donation as we give food, litter, and affordable medical care to those in need in our community as well as care for all the cats we have.
My sister and I are donating sales from our seashell themed Xmas book and Island book, magnets and stickers to Hurricane Ian relief in Sanibel, Florida! Check us out – every little donation helps! Follow us @thejunobook on Instagram https://linktr.ee/TheJunoBook
Your Juno items are super cute! What a wonderful thing you are doing💐
That’s really neat, I am doing some, too. Good luck!
Thank you so much kadysiga!!!
Donors choose is doubling donations today and I would love some help completing my project. The students will love doing these entrepreneurial activities. https://www.donorschoose.org/project/business-2022-marketing-skills/6602108/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=teacherhub&utm_term=teacher_8010503&rf=directlink-dc-2022-11-teacherhub-teacher_8010503&challengeid=21793870
I am a teacher and have a project posted on Donors Choose. Thanks to matched funding I only need $81 to fully fund this project for my students. Please consider donating.. even a dollar will help us reach our goal! https://www.donorschoose.org/project/office-supplies-calendars-ergonomic-m/6946936/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=teacherhub&utm_term=teacher_3552209&rf=directlink-dc-2022-11-teacherhub-teacher_3552209&challengeid=20778148
Africanchildrensmission.org is a Christ-centered ministry that provides nutrition, education, clean water, medical care, and more to people in East Africa. Such a worthy cause!
I have a donors choose for supplies for my kindergarten classroom. All donations are being doubled today. I would be so grateful for any love you would like to share!
https://www.donorschoose.org/project/kindergarten-supplies/6910722/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=project&utm_term=teacher_7200346&rf=directlink-dc-2022-11-project-teacher_7200346&challengeid=21588784
Please check out donorschoose.com and consider making a contribution to a classroom of your choice. All donations will be doubled today and some of them start at $10.- Thank you all for your support!
I always like to donate to ambassadorstothenations.com to help children all over the world and christinaction.com is helping many people in Florida right now due to the hurricane.
Done and done! Super easy way to support someone in the couponing community that we have here I hope your son earns all the money he needs!
If you are in Southern California – go to Wendy’s and donate to Caterina’s Club! You will get a great little coupon book while helping to serve over 25,025 warm nutritional meals to underprivileged children each week in Orange County.
https://caterinasclub.org/
Please consider http://www.savechildren.org. They do so much for underprivileged children in rural America. Today is a 5x match too!!!
Please consider donating to the desperate situation in Gaza. Thousands of injured, maimed, orphaned, starving, displaced people.
They need ALL the basics- food, medicines/medical supplies, shelter, basic hygiene kits.
Several groups are matching donations:
https://www.anera.org/where-we-work/palestine/gaza/
https://help.rescue.org/donate/evergreen-crisis-ME
https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/children-trapped-gaza-conflict-face-generational-trauma
https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/giving-tuesday-23-cro26-paidsearch-mobile
https://support.crs.org/donate/holy-land-conflict
Love the reminders about the importance of giving back and how there’s plenty of ways to do so without even spending money. I wasn’t thinking about Giving Tuesday in particular, but the animal shelter where I volunteer is extremely overcapacity with dogs and is in constant need of bedding so the other day I posted about that on my apartment building’s website and and offered to take any blankets or towels neighbors had to donate. Fortunately I received quite a lot of bedding! I figured people have things they don’t need and just need an easy way to donate them.
Aww, that’s awesome! Such a thoughtful way to make a difference in your community and local animal shelter, Lisa. 🐾 Love how people in your complex came together to support the cause – and you made it so easy for them by being the one to take to the shelter too! ❤️
I am a PK teacher in TX and have a DonorsChoose project for puzzles to help my kiddos with their fine motor development. Any help would be greatly appreciated. https://www.donorschoose.org/project/so-puzzling/7698951/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=directlink&utm_campaign=teacherhub&utm_term=teacher_4725439&rf=directlink-dc-2023-11-teacherhub-teacher_4725439&challengeid=20990377