Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

9 Easy Ways to Give Back on Giving Tuesday and Beyond

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After Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Shop Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday. Created in 2012 as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good, Giving Tuesday has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round.

This unconventional way of gifting shifts the focus away from stuff in favor of helping others in your community, in other areas of the country, and around the world. There’s no time like the present to have these important conversations with your kids as you teach them about the importance of giving and inspire giving at every age.

9 Easy Ways for Your Family to Give Back on Giving Tuesday

There are so many different ways you can give back on Giving Tuesday. It doesn’t matter how you give or what you give. The only thing that matters is that you give.

By simply giving, you’re creating a global impact driven by local action. In the U.S. alone, 300 community campaigns rally thousands of nonprofits, foundations, grassroots organizations, small businesses, and generous individuals to give back. Whether helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or finding virtual volunteer opportunities with their favorite causes—everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts.

Here are easy ways you can give back on Giving Tuesday and beyond in support of animals, education, and children here in the United States and around the world.

3 Ways Animal Loving Families Can Give Back on Giving Tuesday

If you love animals, consider donating to these 3 organizations.

Heifer International

Even though both of our kids are in college now, they still look forward to thumbing through the Heifer International catalog that comes in the mail to figure out what gift of animals they want to give to others. Heifer is incredible organization that has a long history of empowering families to achieve sustainable income through animals. Donations as small as $20 can purchase a flock of ducks, chicks, or geese whose eggs are not only a source of great protein for the family but can be sold at a market for money that is used to send children to school, and provide proper housing, water, hygiene and other essential resources.

During Thanksgiving, Thomas selected the Hope Basket of chicks and rabbits ($50) and Emily chose to give a Trio of Rabbits ($60) as their gifts this year. Many times Heifer is able to match donations so I like to keep an eye out for these times because it means our family’s gifts goes even farther. Between now and December 3, Heifer is doing a 4x matching gifts which means our $110 donation becomes $440.

Save Elephant Foundation

Years ago our family volunteered at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand and got to see the work that Save Elephant Foundation is doing to preserve the population of 30,000 elephants left on our planet. Save Elephant Foundation rescues elephants who have been hurt because of logging, victims of landmine explosions, and subjected through elephant tourism like trekking, begging, and street performing. Flash floods in Northern Thailand this past October caused Elephant Nature Park to evacuate elephants and swept away many of the structures.

Now more than ever a donation to Save Elephant Foundation is needed so Elephant Nature Park can rebuild in order to provide elephants with a safe home, the best veterinary care, and chain-free enclosures in order for them to live the life they deserve.

Your Local Animal Shelter or Pet Rescue Organization

When we were looking to get our first dog, we sought out local rescue groups in our area. Our first dog, Oliver, was given up by his family and we were able to give him a forever home thanks to Mutt Love Rescue. Goldie was 6 months old when we met her through Lab Rescue. Lab Rescue also rescued Murphy, his mama, and his 9 brothers and sisters from a dog breeder in North Carolina who felt in over his head after taking over the business from a family member. We’ve loved giving forever homes to our rescues and appreciate the great work animal shelters and pet rescue organizations to save animals and make sure they get to live the life they deserve.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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There are wonderful animals near you looking for a forever home. Monetary donations help staff at your local animal shelter buy needed supplies for pets waiting for their forever home but you can also donate used towels, sheets, tennis balls, and other items that your family no longer needs to benefit the animals. Visit the website of your local shelter to see what might be needed or give them a call! I know they’d love to hear from you!

3 Ways Families with a Passion for Education Can Give Back on Giving Tuesday

If you’re passionate about education, support learning with a donation to any of these 3 organizations.

DonorsChoose

According to Education Market Association, 99.5% of public teachers spend their own money to equip their classrooms. DonorsChoose is a charity that connects teachers in communities with donors who want to help. Teachers request funding for classroom materials that aren’t provided by the school and fall outside their personal budget, individuals find and fund projects, and teachers obtain necessary supplies for classroom instruction.

Since 2000, 6,314,705 people and partners have contributed $1,720,553,973 to support 3,090,313 teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Visit DonorsChoose to see what projects teachers need help funding in your area and make a donation since every amount helps!

HaitiProjects.org

Haiti Projects Community Library

During my years of visiting Haiti, I’ve seen some incredibly impactful projects but Haiti Projects stands out because of how their initiatives truly empower women in and around Fond des Blanc, a rural town on the southern coast. Haiti Projects’ mission is to empower women and their families by providing access to jobs, healthcare, and education. Their programs invest in women, build capacity in and engage the community, while also facilitating economic development and leveraging technology. 

Haiti

Haiti Projects Community Library, Fond des Blancs, Haiti

In 2018 I was invited to attend the opening of the Haiti Projects Community Library that includes an off-the-grid state of the art Maker Library with books, computers and internet access for hundreds of kids, and a laboratory for incubating ideas, innovation, and fabrication. The mechanical and electronic fabrication library provide the community to access to tools, machines, and a maker community so residents can learn skills, design, and be able to build anything they dream of.

traveling to Haiti

Haiti Projects TechnoClub in Fond des Blanc, Haiti

I sat in on a health education session with the girls soccer team where members learned about menstruation and puberty, education that isn’t taught to girls in Haiti.

Haiti Projects Pad Project

Haiti Projects Pad Project

 

I took a walk through the country to visit a beekeeping site that’s part of the Beekeeping Project even though I’m allergic to bees. Empowering Haitians through knowledge and skills has been critical and a donation to Haiti Projects will help helping Haiti rebuild. A couple years ago I traveled Haiti to work with Haiti Projects to design educational initiatives for women and girls and shared my experience through a series of blog posts.

Malala Fund

 There are more than 120 million girls out of school today and The Malala Fund works to reach the most vulnerable girls who are denied an education. By breaking down barriers that hold girls back, The Malala Fund supports girls in refugee camps, girls living in poverty, and girls afraid to go to school because of gender-based violence and aims to provide girls in the most vulnerable communities a chance to learn.

They build networks of education advocates, work to hold leaders accountable to ensure resources and policy changes are made to ensure girls get a secondary education, and help develop the next generation of female leaders who will stand up and tell leaders what they need to learn in order to reach their full potential. Education is a right and The Malala Fund works to secure 12 years of safe, free, quality education for all girls so they can learn and lead without fear. 

3 Ways Families Can Give Back to Kids Around the World on Giving Tuesday

If you care deeply about kids, these are my three favorite organizations that do incredible work for children here and around the world.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

 

 
 
 
 
 
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In 2016 I traveled to Memphis to tour St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and my visit was life changing. I was impressed with their mission of treating and finding cures for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases but also the incredible care they take of kids and families being treated. St. Jude is a place where parents never have to pay for treatment, food, or housing during their stay. St. Jude believes that parents should focus on what matters most- helping children live.

I expected my visit to be filled with sadness and instead, the parents I met made me realize that St. Jude is a place that provides hope. I realized that as a healthy mom of 2 healthy kids that I wanted to help St. Jude kids and families because if my own kids were to ever get sick, I’d want them to be taken care of in a way that St. Jude cares for families.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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This is why I’ll spend this Saturday running the St. Jude Memphis Marathon as a St. Jude Hero. As a Hero, it’s my mission to run and raise money in support of St. Jude kids and families so other parents can focus on their own kids whether in the United States or around the world. Help me help St. Jude families by donating any amount to my St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend race. 

Shot@Life

The topic of vaccines is a controversial one in the United States for many reasons but what if you lived in a country that had a high mortality rate for children where access to vaccines would prevent deadly and disabling diseases like polio, pneumonia, measles, and diarrhea? The truth is, 1 in 5 children around the world don’t have access to the same vaccines we do in the United States and every 20 seconds (or approximately 1.5 million children a year) die from a vaccine preventable disease. A $20 donation to Shot@Life protects a child for life from polio, pneumonia, measles, and diarrhea and is an investment in a healthier world.

Save the Children

With the belief that every child deserves a future, Save the Children works in the United States and around the world to give children a healthy start in life as well as the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. They are always dedicated to doing what it takes for children on a daily basis as well as during times of crisis.

One of the best ways to make a lasting impact with your Save the Children donation is to sponsor a child. Sponsoring a child for less than $1 a day helps provide nutrition and health and also supports their child development and education. If you’re looking to give a gift that gives back, you can purchase and send a themed gift box for $50. Themes include fight hunger, promote girl empowerment, or a general save the children one for $50.

Wondering how to teach your kids about giving? These past Giving Tuesday posts of mine can help!

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES

Below is the entire list of what you can look forward to this year. These links will go live as guides are published so bookmark or pin this post now so you can come back to it as you do your holiday shopping since I’ll be updating it often!

FAVORITE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FROM LAST YEAR

In case you wanted to start making your shopping lists now, here’s a look at last year’s gift guides that are full of great ideas:

Note to PR: I am happy to accept items for review to consider for specialty guides which will publish through December. Please be specific about the products you’d like me to consider reviewing in your pitch and if you’re able to offer a reader giveaway. Giveaway items will be directly shipped to readers upon conclusion of the giveaway. Thanks for understanding I’m on a short deadline to publish gift guides and do not have the bandwidth to return samples during this extremely busy time of the year or send links once posts are live. 

No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own. Images courtesy of the nonprofit organizations mentioned above.