Northwest Iowa — Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are for getting deals. In recent years a global day has been dedicated to giving back. #GivingTuesday is this Tuesday, December 1st, a time when charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
Giving Tuesday officials say that GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
In northwest Iowa, many nonprofit organizations would love to accept a #GivingTuesday donation from you.
Brandi Fuerstenberg at the Sheldon Chamber tells us that the SCDC has partnered with 17 Sheldon businesses to bring you a “Give a Little – Save a Little” card. She says that in this holiday season they wanted to offer a way for you to give back to the community and save a little with some great discounts also. Fuerstenberg says these cards will be available for $5.00. There is a tear-off portion of the card with the names of five different Sheldon non-profit organizations. You can choose which of those non-profits you would like your $5.00 to go toward. On the back side of the card are discounts that can be used at the 17 different businesses. The cards will be available to purchase from December 1-15 with the discounts good for that time period as well.
The Sheldon United Fund Drive continues as well. You can give to any or all of the 25 organizations by dropping off donations at Citizen’s State Bank, Iowa State Bank, Northwestern Bank, or Peoples Bank, all in Sheldon. Or you can mail your contribution to P.O. Box 41, Sheldon, Iowa 51201.
Hope Haven, based in Rock Valley has also let us know that they will be participating in GivingTuesday and they say they need your help. By joining the Giving Tuesday movement, Hope Haven officials say you’re proving that in times of uncertainty, generosity can bring the whole world together. They tell us you can go to hopehaven.org/giving–
Many other organizations from Love, INC to Village Northwest Unlimited, to ATLAS, to Upper Des Moines or Mid-Sioux Opportunity, to area churches and schools would all appreciate your generosity as well.
The GivingTuesday folks tell us that people can show their generosity in a variety of ways during GivingTuesday—whether it’s helping a neighbor, advocating for an issue, sharing a skill, or giving to causes, every act of generosity counts. They tell us that at a time when we are all experiencing the pandemic, generosity is what brings people of all races, faiths, and political views together across the globe. They say generosity gives everyone the power to make a positive change in the lives of others and is a fundamental value anyone can act on.
