15 Ideas for #GivingTuesday

What is #GivingTuesday?

In 2012 #GivingTuesday began as an effort to respond to the commercialization and materialism of Christmas. Urging people to use the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a day to give back to organizations making a difference in communities and around the world, #GivingTuesday has continued to grow and expand. I love this important reminder to all of us that the true gift is always is giving not getting!

#GivingTuesday reminds us the true gift is always giving not getting! Click To Tweet

Why does it matter?

I believe most of my readers are like me. You want to engage in your community and in the world. You want to help meet the real needs of others. You want to give back out of gratitude for all the Lord has done for you.

And you want your children to have generous hearts and lives as well.

#GivingTuesday is an opportunity to put all of those things into action.

Because the true gift is always GIVING not GETTING ... 15 simple ways to participate in #GivingTuesday.

How can you join in?

Because I think you’re like me, I also think there’s a pretty good chance you’re busy and when you starting reading this post your thought was, “This is great, TL, but how in the world am I supposed to know what to do??”

Friend, I totally understand! And that’s what I gathered up 15 simple ways you and your family can participate in #GivingTuesday.

15 simple ways you can participate in #GivingTuesday! Click To Tweet

Join the Fair Trade Friday club or shop at the Mercy House Market. {I think a subscription to the Fair Trade Friday club would be an awesome gift for the jewelry lover in your life! I added it to my gift guide for teenage girls this year.}
Support Key Ministry, an organization reaching out to connect special-needs families with resources for support, education, and advocating. {I have so many friends with special-needs children and, of course, in our extended family we have sweet James Ed who is Scott’s great-uncle with Down Syndrome.}
Donate to local food ministries. {This one is so easy! Lots of grocery stores and even schools do canned food drives during this time of year. Take your kids with you to buy a bag of groceries to donate.}
Participate in a coat or blanket drive. {This is a great way to help the homeless in your community and also for children who may not have warm winter coats.}
Order gifts from organizations like World Vision or Compassion International. {Not going to lie, looking through the World Vision catalog and figuring out what we can give is one of my favorite things. And I especially love it when Scott slips a little note in my stocking that says he gave in my name!}
Buy coffee from HOPE Coffee or Thrive Coffee. {If you are coffee drinker, I promise you will love both of these! And if you’re going to drink coffee every day, it may as well be coffee that makes life better for another family, right?}
Contact your utilities department to donate money for those who cannot afford their bill. {You don’t have to pay someone’s full bill, but during this time of year, there are many families who have to choose between paying bills and buying even small gifts for their children. I know it may be more fun to shop for the gifts but it may be more life-changing to make it possible for a mom or dad to buy the gifts themselves without worrying their house will be cold or dark on Christmas morning.}
Volunteer with a local outreach organization such as Meals on Wheels, a crisis pregnancy center, or a local animal shelter. {If your child is like mine, boredom will strike at some point over the holidays. Sit down together and determine how you will serve in your community over the Christmas break. Sometimes the best gift we give is time!}
Purchase warm socks, hard candy, etc., for residents at local nursing home. {James 1:27 admonishes us not only to care for the orphans but also for the widows as evidence of our true faith. Many nursing home residents will be alone over the holidays. A simple gift of warm socks, hard candy, and a Christmas card can make a huge impact. Call a local nursing home and find out how you and your family can make Christmas merry for someone.}
Provide a night of babysitting for a single mom to be able to shop for Christmas gifts for her children or help a widow or elderly couple put up their Christmas decorations. { So often, we forget about the very practical needs of those around us. Single moms who work multiple jobs may have a hard time finding time to go shop for their children’s gifts. A night of babysitting is a great way to minister to someone who may often feel very alone over the holidays. And, think about that elderly neighbor who shuffles to the mailbox every morning. Especially those without family nearby. They may love the decorations but no longer be able to get them out and put up. Be sure to go back and help them take it all down!)
Give a donation for Bibles to the Gideons International in memory or honor of someone special in your life. {This is one of my favorite things as well. Think about the people who have invested in your spiritual growth … what better way to honor them than to make the Word of God accessible to someone else.}
Find a blood drive and give blood. {A few hours of your time can be the difference in someone else’s life!}
Sign up to be an organ donor. Our sweet niece Greer was the recipient of a heart in 2011 and we are incredibly thankful for the gift of life! {This one is extremely personal for us, as you can imagine. Please, sign up as an organ donor and make sure your family knows your wish that your organs be used for others.}
Support Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts. {As I write this post, one of our favorite places—Gatlinburg, Tennessee— has been evacuated due to raging wildfires. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is one of the most respected and able organizations to respond to situations like this.}
And, perhaps the simplest — give others the gift of a smile and kind word!

So there you go … 15 ways to join #GivingTuesday.

I hope you’ll choose at least one of these and help your family engage in giving during this season that can so easily become about getting.

How will you and your family engage in #GivingTuesday? Click To Tweet

xoxo,

Teri Lynne

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Check out @DaySpring's #VillageArtisan line! Items as low as $5 make great #GivingTuesday purchases! Click To Tweet

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