With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the holiday shopping that happens around Thanksgiving, it’s easy to forget about others who are not as fortunate as us. That’s why a few years ago the non-profit group 92nd Y and the United Nations foundation joined forces to create #GivingTuesday. It’s a day where we set aside consumerism and focus on the community, either by donating to your favorite charity (maybe some of the money you saved during your Black Friday shopping) or by volunteering. Even in the middle of the pandemic, in 2020 a record setting $2.7 billion was raised!

When is Giving Tuesday?

Just like Black Friday, Giving Tuesday falls on a different date each year. It’s always on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving (the day after Cyber Monday — The largest online shopping day of the year in the United States). This year it falls on December 3, 2024.

Corporate Involvement

A large number of organizations have joined the movement and it’s possible that the company you work for is already involved or maybe interested in joining. Facebook, Google, Groupon, Microsoft, Sony, Skype, Cisco, and Unilever are just a few of the larger companies taking part in this year’s Giving Tuesday. If you’re interested in taking with your manager about getting your co-workers involved, givingtuesday.org has a tool kit available to help you get started.

It’s Not Just One Day

Work, family, school, life — It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday grind and forget about others around us in our community that are in need. How may times have you said to yourself that you alone can’t make a difference? I think what what we forget is that everything around us was made by people. Someone had a vision, an idea, a thought and worked to make it happen. You alone can bring incredible good, horrific bad, or do nothing at all. You can bring change and help make this world a better place. Yes, you!