Tri-City Hospital Foundation has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort that will harness 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. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world. Taking place Dec. 2, 2014 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.
The charitable partner of Tri-City Medical Center, which granted over a million dollars toward enhancing the North County San Diego hospital’s service offerings in FY 2014, will be leveraging #GivingTuesday to build on mother and child care capabilities at TCMC and is the only area participant focused on hospital initiatives. Going hand-in-hand with its year-end giving emphasis, the Foundation hopes to sync with goals to provide all-new programs for better nutrition, prenatal health and more in the coming year.
“Tri-City Hospital Foundation is always looking for innovative channels to connect with our community and inspire giving in fresh ways,” said Glen Newhart, CFRE, Executive Director of Tri-City Hospital Foundation. “It’s a great program for engaging previously untapped donors and allowing regular supporters to spread the word to their own networks almost effortlessly.”
Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by the 92nd Street Y (92Y), came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and with the help of the United Nations Foundation and other founding partners, more than 10,000 organizations have joined the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.
“It’s been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday,” said Henry Timms, 92Y’s Executive Director. “This initiative has truly been crowd- sourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the next generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs.”
“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give to our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”
Those who are interested in joining Tri-City Hospital Foundation’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit TriCityHospitalFoundation.org. For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website, Facebook page or follow #GivingTuesday and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.