Community Corner
#GivingTuesday: A Chance to Give Back During the Holiday Season
Howard County-based the Build Haiti Foundation; Columbia Festival of the Arts; and the Arc of Howard County are among the nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.
Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season?
A partnership of nonprofits hopes so.
For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week.
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Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet: Giving Tuesday.
According to the Giving Tuesday website, the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "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."
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Several Howard County-based nonprofits are among those in Maryland using their websites and social media networks to kick off the inaugural effort. The effort includes the Twitter hashtag #GivingTuesday, designed to help spread the word.
Participants include local chapters of larger organizations such as The Arc of Howard County as well as local charities including The Build Haiti Foundation; Shari's Promise; and the Columbia Festival of the Arts.
What do you think? Can a social media push get people giving more of their money and time to charities during the holiday season?
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