UTICA, NY – First comes Black Friday. Then Small Business Saturday. Then Cyber Monday.
In this season of giving, “Giving Tuesday” takes center stage as a way to give back to those less fortunate.
Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea - a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, and celebrate generosity.
This year, no matter which not-for-profit organization you can think of, most likely they are down when it comes to receiving donations, so this year Giving Tuesday is that much more important, and there are so many worthy organizations.
Charities have seen declining donations this year, and some are struggling to stay afloat as they've had to cancel 2020 fundraising events.
One in our area that received a lot of funding during last year's Giving Tuesday is the House of the Good Shepherd. The House serves children in eight counties, including Oneida, Herkimer, Madison and Lewis counties in the greater Utica area.
Because of COVID-19, children housed at their facilities cannot leave, so they must learn and grow and enjoy recreation right on campus. Coming up with ways to accomplish that is costly.
Officials with the House of the Good Shepherd say they couldn't have offered the services they have so far this year during the pandemic without the generosity of the community on Giving Tuesday last year.
“The donations we receive help us provide therapeutic recreation services to our children on campus. The COVID-19 virus has really restricted what we can do in the community, so the recreation therapist and youth empowerment specialist need to come together and create fun innovative educational recreational opportunities that will be delivered on campus as opposed to using the community," says Michael Campanero, House of the Good Shepherd recreation manager.
“These kids will always have something to eat, they'll always have a roof over their heads, will always have our love, will always have protection and we will fight to the bitter end for them, but it's easier to do that kind of stuff with them when we have the monetary backing to give them the services that they need," said Sister Lynn Abdelnour, HGS youth empowerment specialist.
If you would like to donate to any charitable organization you can usually do it right on their website, including the House of the Good Shepherd here.
