After all the spending you do on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, local groups are asking you to put a little bit of that money to the side and help somebody else’s holiday wishes come true. Giving Tuesday is coming up and there are a lot of groups here in the Tennessee Valley that need your help.
Mayor Tommy Battle released a statement saying, “Huntsville’s generosity shines year-round, and Giving Tuesday is an excellent opportunity to amplify that giving spirit. Volunteer at your nonprofit of choice, make a donation to a cause that touches your heart or simply share a smile and a kind word with a neighbor.”
Giving Tuesday is an annual, global generosity movement. It’s a day where people intentionally perform charitable acts. Since the start of the “Giving Tuesday” movement nine years ago, online donations have reached over $1 billion in the U.S.
Claudia Bucher, the Director of Development at the United Way of Madison County. She tells us that she’s encouraging locals, “Take time to say ‘hey, I could give at ‘Giving Tuesday’ and help someone out.”
When it began in 2012, United Way was one of the first groups to get involved with Giving Tuesday. If you give to the Madison County location, you’re not just giving to them- you’re supporting 27 other local non-profits and even more programs.
Claudia Bucher tells us, “They provide 37 programs, so when you give to United Way, it’s kind of like a one-stop-shop.” And if you donate on Facebook, you could help them even more. Facebook has announced they’ll match up to $7 million donated during Giving Tuesday.
One group is hoping to make this holiday a very special one for local kids. We met with Lee Marshall, the Founder/ CEO of Kids to Love in Madison. She says, “With us serving more than 1600 local foster care children for Christmas, we really hope our community does give back Tuesday and supports Kids to Love as we support our kids.”
Kids to Love provides Christmas gifts to kids in foster care who, otherwise, might not receive anything. For founder, Lee Marshall, this is a cause close to her heart. She tells us, “I was a foster child and that’s my why. And so many times children in foster care go without.”
There are amazing foster parents who step up, but sometimes, this time of year can just be too expensive. Some have already started lending a helping hand.
We spoke with Sheila Banister as she was dropping off a donation of 40 toys at Kids to Love. She says, “I grew up as a kid who was a recipient of “Angel Trees”, you know, those kinds of organizations. And I was always very appreciative of receiving those. And, so I just wanted to give back.”
On “Giving Tuesday”– or ANY day– You can donate gifts to “Kids to Love”, volunteer to wrap presents, or even sponsor a wish list so that all kids have gifts to open on Christmas day.
For a list of Huntsville’s non-profit organizations click here! Get out and give back!
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