Giving Tuesday is about giving (surprise, surprise). After a weekend of eating (Thanksgiving in the US) and shopping (Black Friday and Cyber Monday) like crazy, today is a day to give back. Being grateful that you have enough food to eat and enough money to spend, now is the perfect time to donate to your favourite charity.
It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of money, most organizations take any small amount that you have. What I always keep repeating is if everybody who can spare just $5 would give $5 from time to time, most of the world’s problems could be solved in no time.
There are so many in need in the world, how to decide what cause to support, you may ask? Well, out of your general interests, just choose one cause that you find close to your heart. If you still find it hard to choose, you probably have a favorite band, singer, actor, writer, a famous person you like. Find out what their favourite charities are, and choose from those.
Still having trouble? Here are three of my favourite causes that I hope will inspire you today (or any day, really) to give.
1. Helping refugees
If you insist on choosing from the world’s biggest crises, you can hardly find a bigger one than the global refugee crisis right now. You probably heard that there are more displaced people around the world today, than any point in history since the end of World War II. Those people are looking for a new home with basically not more belongings than what they can carry in their own hands, or many times nothing at all.
The UN Refugee Agency is responsible for helping refugees around the world, with much less resources than needed in respone for this global crisis.
You can find ways to help on their website: https://donate.unhcr.org/int-en/general
2. Helping children
UNICEF is one of the UN’s longest standing agencies, helping children in need not just in generally underdeveloped regions, but whenever they may be (unfortunately, no matter where you live, I can tell you, there are malnourished children in your country too…). According to their statement, “UNICEF works for a world in which every child has a fair chance in life.” You can help them do just that, click their homepage to learn how: https://www.unicef.org/
3. Helping the poor and sick
OK, this is going to be not one, but two (or even more) causes, and it resonates with my tip about finding out what your favourite stars support. U2 lead singer and world-renowned philanthropist Bono created ONE.org, which is one of my all time favorite charities. Its main goal is to end extreme poverty and eliminate preventable desease, particularly in Africa. Clicking their website, you will find several related causes which you can add your name to in support (you can help with just signing your name, don’t need to give any money!). You can also start holiday shopping from their ethically made products to support the main cause. Visit ONE Shop here: http://one.shop.musictoday.com/store/
As sort of a spin-off of ONE.org, RED.org aims to eliminate AIDS from the world. There are also RED products to buy, with which you can support the casue, but right now there are several other ways to support RED visiting Omaze.com. You can donate to RED starting from $10 to bigger amounts, and you can win a chance to spend time with your favorite star. I mean who doesn’t want a chance to enjoy a private concert by U2? Or to have tea with Julia Roberts and Bono? Or you prefer Channing Tatum or Neil Patrick Harris? You should definitely check out Omaze.com and support the fight against AIDS, who knows, you might be lucky and get to meet your favourite star too (plus, if we don’t help people with AIDS, we’re going to hell, just so you know…).
(Jokes aside, if this is still not the cause you are looking for, feel free to look for other organizations to support on Omaze.com, then again, there are a lot of worthy causes, the choice is entirely yours!)
+1. Volunteer!
Don’t have any spare money these days? You can still devote your time, right? Ask around in your community, or just look around on the web, searching “volunteering *where you live*”. You will be surprised how many organizations would be grateful for your time.
Want to try that without leaving your home? Try volunteering online! You can find volunteering opportunities at https://www.unv.org/become-volunteer.
Notice, apart from the +1, I have only mentioned a bunch of opportunities to donate using your credit card. But you can always go out to find the next person living in the streets in your town. You don’t have to give them money, give food or clothes, or anything you can. You see this could be an endless post, but I hope it gives you the general idea either way.
If you found your way to give on Giving Tuesday, please let me know in the comments or on Twitter. Happy giving!
