#GivingTuesday Barbados
What is GivingTuesday?
On Tuesday, November 28, 2017, charities, families, businesses, community centres and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fuelled by the power of social media and collaboration.
Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S) and the widely recognised shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.
Since its inaugural year in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become an international movement in over 98 countries that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy with events throughout the year and a growing catalog of resources. You can read more about #GivingTuesday on their website.
What is GivingTuesday Barbados?
GivingTuesday Barbados is officially the 40th country on the GivingTuesday map in 2017!
GivingTuesday Barbados is encouraging small acts of kindness on November 28th by donation of time, resources and talents to address local challenges. #BajanGiving can mean many things to each of us and we hope to inspire individuals, companies and organisations to join our movement by giving to causes that are close to their heart.
How can you get involved?
Anyone, anywhere can get involved in #GivingTuesday Barbados and give back in a way that is meaningful to them.
Each NGO, Charity, group and company is invited to come on board and help us expand the reach of #BajanGiving through your own campaigns. You don’t need to be a charity or NGO to be able to participate in #GivingTuesday Barbados and you are also welcome to join in on the projects that GivingTuesday Barbados is focussing on this year.
What’s happening during GivingTuesday Barbados?
This year, the GivingTuesday Barbados campaign will be focussing on 3 projects. You are invited to participate in these projects, or design your own, which we can then support as well.
Blood Drive on November 28th
Encouraging people to donate blood ahead of the Christmas period, when blood is in high demand. Blood donation is a serious issue in Barbados, with less than 200 Barbadians donating regularly. Our aim is to have 28 people donate on November 28th. For those unable to donate on the 28th, you are encouraged to pledge a donation on #GivingTuesday, so that there is a steady supply of blood during the Christmas period. GivingTuesday is partnering with Drops of Love Initiative and the Barbados Blood Bank for this project. You can sign up to our Facebook event here and to pledge to donate blood here.
I have previously blogged about donating blood in Barbados, and this is an issue that I am very passionate about.
#BajanGiving Children’s Book Drive
Through a partnership with local reading and literacy organisations, GivingTuesday Barbados will be collecting new and gently used children’s books to promote literacy in our local community. These books will be donated to various primary schools and community libraries across the island that are in dire need of books.
There will be various drop off locations across the island, and individuals are encouraged to ask their neighbours and friends to participate. Details will be shared on our Facebook event.
UNSelfie for #BajanGiving
An UNSelfie is a fun spin on the traditional selfie - you are encouraged to take a photo of yourself but also include some information highlighting a cause that you care about to help spread the word about #GivingTuesday Barbados and using #BajanGiving. You can talk about why you volunteer, share information on your favourite charity or simply invite others to participate by posting their photos!
GivingTuesday Barbados will have an UNSelfie template on our Facebook page that you can print and use for #BajanGiving on November 28th, or you can just write a card yourself and share it online.
Get Involved
You can see a full list of #GivingTuesday activities and events around the world for inspiration on how you can create an impact on #GivingTuesday: Individuals, Organisations.
#GivingTuesday harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season. It inspires people to take collective action to improve their communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they believe in, and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday demonstrates how every act of generosity counts, and that they mean even more when we give together.
GivingTuesday Barbados is being organised by a team of volunteers, but you can contact me directly via [email protected] about getting involved!