Groups give back in wake of the Black Friday frenzy
The University of Windsor gave its all to Giving Tuesday. Organizers set up six donation hubs across campus to promote the international one-day initiative aimed at inspiring people to volunteer or donate to charity as a sharp counterpoint to the rampant consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
It was the university’s third Giving Tuesday initiative and by far its most expansive, with three donation hubs set up on the main campus, as well as the St. Denis Centre, the Odette School of Business and the SoCA (School of Creative Arts) student lounge downtown. Giving Tuesday started in 2012 with two activist groups in New York looking to motivate people to devote time or money to improving their communities.
The initiative has since spread to 150 countries, including Canada, where statistics suggest six million Canadians took part in Giving Tuesday 2017.
The university’s campaign focused on raising food donations for the two food banks on campus and cash donations for the student-driven Liberty Project, which helps women who are victims of abuse, addictions or trauma. Last year, the university set up one Giving Tuesday donation hub and targeted a matching gift initiative for the university library. This year they kicked the campaign off before 8 a.m. under an inflatable archway at Turtle Island Way.
Nicole Broderick, the university’s annual giving co-ordinator said the 2018 campaign didn’t have a dollar target in mind.
“It’s more about creating awareness, that’s why we’re all across campus, we’re hoping to engage thousands of students, that’s our No. 1 goal,” Broderick said. The university initiative also partnered with the Leddy Library and Parking Services. Library fees could be paid with a non-perishable food item and 50 per cent of the face value of parking tickets would be donated to the Giving Tuesday projects.
A number of local agencies held Giving Tuesday campaigns including the John McGivney Children’s Centre, the Downtown Mission and the Windsor Residence for Young Men.
After raising $1,200 on Giving Tuesday 2017, the Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) substantially upped the ante in 2018, hoping to raise $16,000, enough to support two men in programming for one year. “It’s a matter of how proficient we are with social media,” said WRYM executive director Greg Goulin. “All our fundraising is done by volunteers and it’s a bit of a challenge, but we’ve got excellent people involved now.” Their campaign had reached $4,000 by lunchtime.
The Canadian Cancer Society held an ambitious seven-day campaign from Nov. 20 to 27 that offered donors the opportunity to purchase a gift from its online catalogue of Gifts for the Cure that matched dollars spent at up to 10 times the original amount. “This is the first time we’ve had a matching opportunity available,” said Lina Mohamed, the CCS director of direct response and innovation.
Mohamed said the Canadian Cancer Society has been involved in Giving Tuesday since 2014 and the campaign raised $250,000 in 2017. “It’s very important for us,” she said.