#GivingTuesday Is Today. What Is Your Plan?

Today is December 2nd.  This day has been designated by the United Nations Foundation as “Giving Tuesday.”

The theme of many of the posts on this blog during December will be about gifts or giving in some way. I first saw this video in a post by Cathy Chester, a #Giving Tuesday Social Ambassador. I loved the concept and I knew right away I wanted to share it here today. 




I encourage you to either watch the video here, or pop over to Cathy's blog to watch it and read her two-part #GivingTuesday post. She used her blog post to create awareness about an organization that uses the healing power of horses for good, and one that rescues abused dogs.  

There are so very many ways we can all do good things, by giving a little of: 

• our money
• our time
• our efforts
• our influence
• our love.

How am I giving today?

• I am calling the American Red Cross this morning to make an appointment to give blood this week. (I will tell you more about this in a post later this month!)

• I am taking two boxes of clothes which we no longer wear to donate to a local charity. (This is in addition to the full carload of items I took last week!)

• I am putting together an exam-week care package for my daughter, who is away at college. (Oops, she reads my blog, so I may have just ruined the surprise! Hopefully she is too busy studying to read all my posts this week!)  

• A committee I belong to is putting together a gift of baked goods. I am going to start to do some baking for that today. (This is a surprise, so I can't mention the name of the committee!)

• Our family has a tradition of choosing a gift animal to purchase during the holiday season from Heifer International. We love the idea of being able to help another family. Picking which animal we will give is fun, and we have even named each one! 

Today, I am going to order the animal we have decided to purchase this year: a llama, which will go to a family in an area of higher altitude, such as Bolivia. 

When they were small, one of my children's very favorite books was "Is Your Mama a Llama?" written by Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. So, of course, we have named this llama "Mama." 

• Nearly 70 years ago, Heifer International was founded on the philosophy “teach a man to fish ... .” Their mission is “to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.”  

• Rather than just being a handout, each Heifer animal gift provides a family in need with food and reliable income, resulting in self-reliance and participation in improving their own communities. Each family who receives an animal agrees to give the first female offspring to another family in need. 

• Animals not your thing? Heifer International also offers opportunities to help purchase items such as irrigation pumps or trees, to give the gift of clean water, to empower women, or send a girl to school.      

And last but not least:

• Today, I am spreading the word about this  #GivingTuesday campaign. Every time someone participates in #GivingTuesday (or Giving Anyday!), our world is a better place ... one gift at a time.

The advice from the UN Foundation about #GivingTuesday is to “make it your own.” 

To be truthful, I probably would not accomplish all of these things today, if it were not for the motivation of #GivingTuesday.  I would do them all eventually, but this campaign has helped me to avoid procrastinating!

Oh, and about that llama. - -  When I sent a text to my daughter last night, to ask her if she thought buying a llama was a good idea this year, she responded that she had initially only seen half of my text. For a second she thought WE were getting the llama!  If the receiving family is even half as enthusiastic as she momentarily was, it will be a fantastic gift!

What will you give today? What will you give on the rest of the days of this year?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains an Amazon affiliate link, for which I may receive compensation if any purchases are made. All opinions expressed, however, are entirely my own.