A few days ago, there was Black Friday.  Today is Cyber Monday.  And tomorrow, to provide an opportunity to pause a bit amid all the holiday-season retail frenzy, comes Giving Tuesday.  It’s a small, gentle, but organized reminder that giving back is important, too…and that groups and institutions other than retailers need your support – both financially and in other ways – especially at this busy time of year.
According to Giving Tuesday’s Facebook page:
We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
It’s a simple idea. Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Join us and be a part of a global celebration of a new tradition of generosity.
Our mid-Los Angeles area is full of wonderful non-profit organizations that welcome your help in many ways.  They include schools and their PTA/PTO/”Friends of…” organizations, neighborhood associations, community service and support groups,  food pantries, shelters, pet rescue groups, historic preservation groups, arts organizations, and many others. Just a few in our own back yard:
Anderson-Munger YMCA
Big Sunday
Ebell of Los Angeles
First in Fire Foundation
Friends of Wilshire/John C. Fremont/Memorial Branch Libraries
Hope Net
Miracle Mile Optimists
Westside Jewish Community Center
Wilshire Rotary
Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society
For even more, websites such as GuideStar and TaxExemptWorld make searching for non-profits by zip code, type or other criteria very simple…and often provide other helpful information about the listed groups. Â So take a few minutes today to think about the ways and places you might be able to help tomorrow – whether through an official group, or just by doing a good deed or two – on Giving Tuesday.
