In a society written, directed, and starred in by capitalism, it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed by sales everywhere. With 50% off here, and buy one get one there, we get so caught up in buying things for ourselves that sometimes we forget the “giving” in Thanksgiving.
Black Friday. Small-business Saturday. Cyber Monday. GIVING TUESDAY.
#GivingTuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation as a reminder that the holiday season is about giving and giving back. On the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the whole world is encouraged to give. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners — charities, families, businesses, and individuals — to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season.
This year I am supporting College Mentors for Kids. I am an intern for the mid-Atlantic region of College Mentors for Kids, and our efforts are making a difference. Over 2,500 kids get to have one-on-one mentoring relationships with college students across the country, and their stories are being changed as they are exposed to new possibilities for their future.
Over 20 years ago, College Mentors for Kids was created by two college student friends (just like us) at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. They had a dream and imagined a community in which young, underserved children would be given the same educational opportunities and experiences as their peers. Believing college students to be a valuable yet untapped resource for children, the friends set out to design a program that would harness the energy, idealism, and resources that college students and a university campus could offer children. The mission centered on opening windows of opportunity. Today, College Mentors for Kids serves over 2,500 children across the United States through the volunteer efforts of over 2,800 college students with a national office in Indianapolis, Indiana. 75% of former little buddies follow the path to post-secondary education!
One of our goals for #GivingTuesday is to collectively raise enough to support 100 mentor-little buddy pairs for a year of mentoring activities. ALL online donations to College Mentors for Kids, including those received through Facebook and chapter, committee, and board fundraising sites, count toward this goal.
Thanks to three generous donors – Social Legends, enduranceIT, and Barada Associates – all online gifts made on November 28 will be matched up to $6,500! We need YOU to help us reach the full match of $ 6,500 so that we can provide more mentors to kids who need them.
One really easy way to kill two birds with one stone is to use AmazonSmile on Cyber Monday to do your online shopping and designate College Mentors as your charity. A portion of every purchase will come back to support College Mentors as they connect college student mentors with kids who could use a positive role model.