At the end of August a Forbes report came out about the newest attempt to add another date to our national calendar. #GivingTuesday (November 27th this year) is the latest addition to the most famous shopping week in America. Following Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday was developed by the non-profit 92nd Street Y community and cultural center (92Y) in conjunction with the United Nations Foundation. The #GivingTuesday website just fully launched this week and features a list of all partners ranging from corporate shopping companies like Groupon to non-profits like the American Red Cross and crowdsourcing fundraising sites like Crowdrise. Read Mashable’s post about their #GivingTuesday participation.
#GivingTuesday’s Mission Statement says it all: #GivingTuesday is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.”
Not everyone behaves badly on Black Friday, for some people it’s a great bonding experience with friends or family. There are some people out there though that ruin it for everyone else. Each year we hear horror stories of stampedes at big box stores that threaten the safety of shoppers and store employees. Remember all the fights that broke out between parents trying to buy Tickle Me Elmo when it first came out? If you find yourself behaving like these people, there’s still hope! You can participate in #GivingTuesday.
