Giving Tuesday, the nonprofit organization that promotes an annual day of generosity the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is encouraging people to participate in an extra day of giving this year on May 5.
The extra giving Tuesday, known as #GivingTuesdayNow, was created as a response to the current global pandemic and “is designed to drive an influx of generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world,” according to a press release about the event.
The organization’s website lists several ideas for how to participate, including supporting healthcare workers, donating to various non-profits, helping out small businesses and reaching out to friends and loved ones to combat loneliness.
“GivingTuesdayNow is a chance for us to stand united and use grassroots generosity to show that we are all in this together, beginning to end,” Giving Tuesday CEO Asha Curran said.
One of the non-profits that regularly partners with Giving Tuesday is United Way, an organization that works to helps communities grow stronger by focusing on three main areas of development: education, financial stability and health.
United Way of Utah County announced in a press release that it has a goal of raising $25,000 before Tuesday, May 5. The money would go towards the United Way’s COVID Community Response Fund which was created to provide resources to organizations that work with low-income families and others who are struggling to survive financially because of the pandemic.
Giving Tuesday has also launched #GivingTuesdayKids as a way to encourage children and young people to participate and to help young people continue finding ways to reach out and serve while many of them are unable to go to school.
“Even as many face financial uncertainty, generosity is not about size. Every act of kindness is not only a beacon of hope, it’s a critical act of civic and social solidarity,” Curran said.
