Today is the tenth anniversary of the Canadian celebration of Giving Tuesday. According to the Giving Tuesday website, this special day was created in 2012 and came to Canada the following year, so by my calculations, that makes it the tenth anniversary.

What is Giving Tuesday?

And here’s something you probably didn’t know – “GivingTuesday is the world’s largest generosity movement.”

This special day is now celebrated in over 80 countries around the world. On top of that, there are 47 different local chapters right here in Canada. 

Here it is, the first Tuesday after American Thanksgiving. As Canadians, we finished our turkey leftovers weeks ago, but… 

How did Giving Tuesday Get Started?

Setting Giving Tuesday for the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving was a very deliberate decision. Over the last couple of decades, the post-Thanksgiving period sales frenzy began with the arrival of Black Friday. As we are all aware, a day for standing in line at your local mall or electronics store to pick up a Christmas gift for yourself or your loved ones. After that came Cyber Monday, the chance to do the same thing online.

Over time, people in the charitable sector decided that they could encourage shoppers to think of their broader community in the aftermath of the shopping frenzy and as the holiday season drew closer. 

So here we are at Giving Tuesday.

What Can I Do For Giving Tuesday?

Even a quick glance at the Giving Tuesday website will show you the range of gifts that people have chosen to give during the world’s largest generosity movement. For instance, over $50 million was donated online to the many different charities connected to GivingTuesday last year. Other donations included 150 backpacks for the homeless, 500 meals for families living with cancer, over 3500 pounds of pet food, and even people who registered for organ donations. That’s an amazing array of gifts and donations.

So, as you can see, you can choose to be generous in many different ways. Let your imagination run wild and help by giving back to your community however you define it. Your community will appreciate it.