Memes on the Internet joke, “Black Friday 2012: Midnight. Black Friday 2013: 6pm Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday 2014: 4th of July.” Stores are becoming more and more eager to bring shoppers in – even at the cost of family gatherings.
This year, many stores opened on Thanksgiving evening with great doorbuster sales. Items such as computers, televisions, and other electronics are offered at great prices on Black Friday. For items like clothing and shoes, you’ll have to wait until Cyber Monday.
However, in the midst of all this shopping, everyone forgets about #GivingTuesday. According to the #GivingTuesday website, it is a movement “to create a national day of giving to kick off the giving season.” This Tuesday, December 3rd, is the second annual #GivingTuesday. Rather than spend money on gifts for yourself and others, the idea is that people will contribute to charitable organizations and nonprofits. Last year, over 50 million people spread the word and allowed #GivingTuesday to trend on Twitter, a milestone in itself.
This year over 7,500 organizations have partnered with #GivingTuesday. People are encouraged not only to donate money, but also time and ideas. So you ate food until you exploded on Thanksgiving, shopped until you dropped on Black Friday, surfed the web for the greatest Cyber Monday deals – but what will you do for #GivingTuesday?