#GivingTuesday gives back
Following the mass consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Tuesday marks the internationally recognized #GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to philanthropy.
The event, which began in 2012, encourages donations to charities and nonprofits as well as discussions of it on social media platforms. This year, the goal is to break the Guinness World Record for the most money raised online for charity in 24 hours.
More than 30,000 organizations in 68 countries are a part of #GivingTuesday, and the event has 15.4 billion impressions worldwide in print and media coverages, according to the event’s website. There has been a 470 percent increase in online donations the Tuesday after Thanksgiving since the event began three years ago.
Faith-based organizations and K-12 education were listed on the #GivingTuesday website as the causes for donation that are the most mentioned on social media.
Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan joined the #GivingTuesday movement, announcing on Tuesday both the birth of their daughter, Maxima, and that they will be donating 99 percent of their Facebook stock, totaling $45 billion, to the causes of education, clean energy, equality for all and combating poverty. Zuckerberg and Chan hope to contribute to these causes through their new organization, the Zuckerberg Chan Initiative.
Those interested in donating are encouraged to share the cause that they are donating to on social media and use the hashtags, “#GivingTuesday” or “#UnSelfie” to share how they are giving back.
In the spirit of #GivingTuesday, students were asked what causes they would donate to if they had $100,000 to spare.
