Giving Tuesday has become an annual tradition in the U.S., offering those who gave thanks on the previous Thursday and shopped until they dropped on the following Black Friday and Small Business Saturday to do their part to give back to worthy community support organizations.
Around here, there’s certainly no shortage of worthwhile groups who do much to support the less fortunate among us.
The list includes the likes of Community Missions, the United Way of Greater Niagara, the Salvation Army, the Heart, Love and Soul food pantry in Niagara Falls and so many more. Meals on Wheels continues to provide an invaluable service to the elderly and shut-ins. There’s always a need for volunteers at area hospitals or nursing homes or even local senior citizen gathering places like the John Duke Center in the Falls.
Somewhere, right now, there is without a doubt another human being in need, a person who lacks shelter, proper nutrition or maybe something just as simple as a person with which they can chat and interact.
Giving Tuesday may be over for another year, but that doesn’t mean the giving needs to stop.
In fact, the giving must continue, through Christmas and New Year’s Day and beyond.
If you were too busy or too exhausted to do something for any number of local charitable groups on the officially sanctioned Giving Tuesday, it’s never too late to think about doing something on any day remaining on the calendar.
You too can donate money to a worthwhile cause.
You could also give money or buy a toy for an ongoing campaign like the Niagara Falls Firefighters Toy Fund.
Of course, money is not everything and sometimes organizations like the ones listed above need your time and your personal assistance just as much.
Yes, you can get involved and volunteer to do any number of activities that must be done in order to ensure that people who, for whatever reason, have less have a little more.
Don’t wait for someone else to do something.
Get up, go out and do it yourself.
You’ll feel better for it and the community around will be improved, if even ever so slightly, because you did something and something is always better than nothing.
Giving Tuesday is a great event and credit goes to all those who took part in various activities aimed at promoting support for local charitable organizations and the needy individuals and families they serve.
Let’s not allow this single day to pass as the only day of the year where we focus on the needs of the many and what needs to be done by all of us to ensure there’s enough to go around, especially during the holidays.
Giving Tuesday is a welcome day of volunteering.
It is also a time to mark our calendars for the next opportunity to step up and give and help wherever and however we can through the end of the year, into next year, and beyond.
Editor’s note: This editorial previously appeared in the Niagara Gazette and is being reprinted in recognition of #GivingTuesday.