Giving Tuesday Encourages Philadelphians To Share The Holiday Spirit
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Giving Tuesday is a national campaign designed to encourage people to give and volunteer during the holiday season, and there's a big local effort to give back.
Founded in 2012 by New York's 92nd Street Y, Giving Tuesday takes the attention off of the excessive spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and refocuses it on giving the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
"We need to bring it back to the meaning of the holiday season and have a day of giving,"
says Rudy Flesher is the coordinator for GivingTuesdayPHL.
He says more than 100 Philadelphia area non-profits are organizing various ways that people can give on December 3rd.
"The goal is to make people feel like they can give locally and make an impact locally," says Flesher, who knows there is something for everyone.
"Some non-profits like People's Emergency Center are doing a can goods drive, other non-profits like Achievability are doing a volunteer drive to help people rehab homes for people who need to move out of transitional housing," he says, "and then there are non-profits that are seeking monitary donations."
Flesher says last year, about 2,500 organizations participated worldwide.
This year, the number is well over 7,000.
"We know people want to give back and they are just looking for a way," Flesher says, "our goal is to plug people into doing what we already know fills their heart with joy."
Flesher says you can find out more about how to give on Tuesday search social media using #GivingTuesdayPHL.
