The perfect cure for the Black Friday hangover
Instead of spending money, GivingTuesday is a day dedicated to donating and giving back
For Canadians exhausted by the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, GivingTuesday may be the perfect antidote.
Tuesday, Nov. 29, marks Canada’s second annual GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to donating and giving back to communities. For those looking for guidance, the Star has selected six charities we have profiled in the Give Smart charity column over the last two years. Here are a few of our picks this GivingTuesday. Sleeping Children Around the World Main goals: Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) was founded in1970 by Murray and Margaret Dryden, parents of hockey goalies Ken and Dave Dryden. The Drydens dreamed of a world where every child benefits from a good night’s sleep and decided to donate 50 “bed kits” to children living in poverty in India. The charity has donated more than 1.5 million kits to children around the world.
One fact: SCAW distributes bed kits in nine countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Honduras. The kits differ depending on climate and culture, but typically include a mat or mattress, pillow and school supplies.
The Terry Fox Foundation
Main goals: The foundation aims to keep the memory of Canadian hero Terry Fox alive by maintaining his integrity and commitment to cancer research, as well as funding cutting-edge cancer research projects across the country.
One fact: Donated money goes to The Terry Fox Research Institute and several other organizations, who allocate the funds to various research institutions via a peer review process to ensure only the best science is funded. Eva’s Initiatives Main goals: Eva’s Initiatives works at both local and national levels to prevent, reduce and end youth homelessness in Canada.
The charity runs three youth shelters in Toronto and provides a wide variety of programs for at-risk young adults. One fact: Curious as to where your money goes? Well, $5 provides TTC fare for a youth to go to a job interview and back, $10 is a day’s worth of healthy food for a youth, and $110 provides a youth shelter for the night, as well as food, emergency support and counselling services. The War Amps Main goals: The War Amps began in 1918, founded by amputee war veterans returning home after the First World War. Today, the association offers support to all Canadian amputees, including child amputees and veterans. One fact: Donations go directly into a wide variety of programs, including the child amputee program, or CHAMP, which assists Canadians younger than18 who were born without a limb or have lost one. CHAMP provides counselling and emotional support, regional seminars and financial assistance toward the cost of artificial limbs. United Way Toronto Main goals: The United Way operates in more than 100 communities across Canada and worldwide. The Toronto branch works with different agencies across the city, “building strong communities, helping kids be all they can be, and moving people from poverty to possibility.” One fact: The United Way Toronto fundraises extensively, then allocates money to around 200 community agencies.
Different agencies run a variety of programs, such as youth employment assistance, breakfast programs for children and meals on wheels for seniors, and must meet the stringent United Way criteria before receiving funding. Planned Parenthood Toronto Main goals: Planned Parenthood Toronto (PPT) has worked for more than 50 years to protect the sexual and reproduction health rights of Torontonians, but that’s not all this prochoice organization does.
“People know us primarily for our work in sexual and reproductive health, but there’s so much more we do to provide youth with the information they need,” says executive director Sarah Hobbs-Blyth. One fact: It doesn’t take much money to make a big difference: $20 provides a youth with a package of oral contraceptives for two months; $34 provides one hour of peer texting so five teens can have their sexual health questions answered by trained volunteers; $50 allows five youth volunteers to attend a training session so they can help educate their peers.