Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, what's next? Ah yes, Giving Tuesday. Unlike the other shopping days, today is dedicated to giving back to the community and to charities.
Organizers of the even at givingtuesday.org have been using social media to get the buzz going on their mission, urging people to "give back" to causes we believe in as we head into the holiday season. GivingTuesday.org is urging users to tag your applicable tweets with #GivingTuesday and follow the initiative on Twitter, Facebook,Pintrest, YouTube and Tumblr.
Giving Tuesday was created by New York-based community center92Y and the United Nations Foundation. More than 2,000 organizations have joined the Giving Tuesday initiative. "We wanted to create a day that was good for the soul," said Beverly Greenfield, a spokesperson for the 92 St Y, according to The Guardian.
"When we first started our very modest goal was to engage 100 partners," Greenfield says. But the fact that they have collected over 2,000 in six months is a testament to the enormous enthusiasm of everyone they contacted.
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates tweeted on Tuesday about the initiative. "Everyone knows about #BlackFriday & #CyberMonday. Now help me spread the word about #GivingTuesday: b-gat.es/Uoybz2,"- Bill Gates (@BillGates) November 27, 2012
"Over 1,000 charities, community organizations and businesses in the US have banded together to promote this Tuesday as a day to give back, and to encourage people to give more, give smarter and celebrate the spirit of giving," he explained in more detail on his blog.
"If the organizers of Giving Tuesday can get more people thinking about giving and encourage us to be more generous with our time and resources, they'll have done a very good thing."
