For Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and, sadly, even Thanksgiving Thursday, it’s shop, shop, shop; buy, buy, buy; spend, spend, spend.
Sigh. What’s next?
Thankfully it’s #GivingTuesday — today December 3rd — a day that’s all about giving instead of spending. #GivingTuesday is a national campaign to inspire personal philanthropy as we head into the holiday season.
How can you counterbalance the onslaught of consumerism and help your kids participate in the #GivingTuesday movement? Here are a few ideas for FamZoo families:
- Make a donation. If your child has built up a balance in a charitable giving account, take a moment on Tuesday to talk about philanthropy and how those funds can make a difference. Then, help your child make a donation.
- Volunteer time. Teach your child that giving isn’t just about money. Plan a holiday volunteering stint together. Try a site like VolunteerMatch.org which has a way to narrow searches to opportunities suitable for kids and teens.
- Set a giving goal. Maybe your child just made a donation — like to the Red Cross for the Philippines disaster recovery effort. Outstanding! Use #GivingTuesday to sit down and set a new donation goal for the future. Savings goals don’t have to be just about purchases.
- Set aside a giving allocation. If you’re child isn’t setting aside a portion of each “paycheck” for charitable giving just yet, perhaps #GivingTuesday is a good day to have that conversation. Consider letting your child pick the percentage. The response just might surprise you.
- Get a giving card. Kids feel a tremendous sense of pride and ownership when they can make the donation themselves. But, in many cases, cash donations aren’t convenient or even possible. That’s when a FamZoo card for charitable giving comes in handy. Order one for your child.
Do you like the Giving Tuesday concept? Help raise awareness by sharing what you’re up to on social media with the hash tag #GivingTuesday. Or, even better, attach a photo of the donation in action and tack on the hash tag #UNselfie as a nice counterbalance to the self-indulgent “selfie” meme. For example, send out a tweet like:
My child donated @FamZoo charitable acct balance to Philippines disaster relief @RedCross #GivingTuesday #UNselfie pic.twitter.com/euR41czRcz
— FamZoo.com (@FamZoo) December 3, 2013
Happy #GivingTuesday!
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