Local Businesses Get Behind First Ever "Giving Tuesday"
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new tradition started on Tuesday to counter the spending frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It's called "Giving Tuesday," and businesses large and small were jumping onboard.
It started with big charities like United Way and the Red Cross, but small businesses can also contribute charitably. The Mann Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia is seeking to raise funds for transportation for its free summer program.
"It is to help us bring kids to the Mann for our free education program," says Executive Vice President Nancy Newman. "We are looking for 200 people to give us $50 each to put kids on the buses each year so that they can attend programs on our main stage."
The goal behind "Giving Tuesday" is to focus on charities, instead of retail. For many organizations, it's a way to increase fund-raising in the race to the end of the year.
"We will not write $100,000 checks, we won't come close in digits," says Marty Tuzman, owner of Jenkintown Building Services, a small window cleaning business, "but what we can do is give some of our time and give the talent that we have and be involved in the community in the unique ways that we as small businesses can."
Jenkintown Building Services will rappel down the eight-story Connelly House and clean the windows for free. The Connelly House is run by Project Home and the Bethesda Project, providing housing to homeless men and women in Center City.
