Time for others to receive on Giving Tuesday 

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday! Download #ShareTheMeal app & join @Strombo to feed hungry children: https://t.co/KoRwqgkEeG #GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/jUGJAiYjzn

— WFP Canada (@WFP_Canada) November 28, 2016

Giving Tuesday is a new movement that arrived in Canada just two years ago. It focuses on giving and volunteering and begins each year after Cyber Monday. Organizers call it the “opening day of the giving season” when charities, companies, individuals and organizations get together in sharing commitments, rallying for or donating to favourite causes, and thinking about others.

Giving Tuesday is “meant to shift the focus of the week from consumerism, to one of humanitarianism,” according to the Giving Tuesday Web site. ““We have two days that are good for the economy. Now we have a day that is good for the community too.”

Trent University Celebrates #Giving Tuesday http://t.co/dwLyUfp0ZO @PboroExaminer @myptbo @Ptbo_Canada @downtownPtbo pic.twitter.com/w24j1YT4vm

— Trent University (@TrentUniversity) December 3, 2013

The movement began in 2012 as a way of celebrating philanthropy and promoting charitable giving. Giving Tuesday was the idea of the team at the Belfer Centre for Innovation & Social Impact in New York City’s 92^nd Street.

More than 2,500 organizations including the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Microsoft got involved in the first Giving Tuesday .

The following year, Canada got its own Giving Tuesday by way of the charitable organization GIV3 CanadaHelps.Org and 15 other partners.

1 Day Until #GivingTuesday! We have 1 mission to deliver on the promise of educational equity for children of Chicago. pic.twitter.com/rnnCz6kEiN

— AUSL (@AUSLChicago) November 28, 2016

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. #Giving Tuesday. Nov 29, give the gift that really makes a difference. Donate now! https://t.co/d67jPtaOUF pic.twitter.com/O9oz0w6VzY

— War Child Canada (@WarChildCan) November 24, 2016

In 2015 more than 4,700 partners and millions of Canadians took part in Giving Tuesday activities.

Giving Tuesday started in response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday – the two days that are great for the economy. Giving Tuesday is “one day that’s great for giving back and kicking off the giving season,” said Scott Williams, co-Chair of the Giving Tuesday movement in Waterloo Region.

In 2015, the first year of The Waterloo Region Giving Tuesday campaign, financial and in-kind donations in Waterloo Region exceeded $200,000. Nearly 500 volunteer hours were pledged or worked. There were 70 blood donations and 35 people signed up as organ donors. More than 25,000 lbs. of food were donated.

The organization’s Web site, now lists 130 local organizations involved in its activities. These organizations are open to donations, whether it’s money, service, or time.

The design pf region’s Giving Tuesday Web site, was actually donated by Copp Marketing and Design, according to Williams.

“Giving Tuesday is about more than giving money—it’s about inspiring one another to do what we can to help,” according to Chris Copp, president of Copp Marketing + Design.

Hashtags #StayGenerous and #GivingTuesdayWR are being widely used, with individuals, families and companies sharing their ideas about how to give back.

Take an #unselfie and let us know why you’re supporting #Parkinsons research this #GivingTuesday! pic.twitter.com/rvwdtuY8dU

— michaeljfox.org (@MichaelJFoxOrg) November 28, 2016

#Unselfie for #AutismAwarness and the wonderful people at @CGCCoop! Supporting young adults with developmental disabilities. #GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/MgV1o2yKn8

— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) November 29, 2016

“Posting an #UNSelfie is one way we can spread the word about GivingTuesday and encourage friends and neighbours to get involved,” said Williams.