Gladwyne Montessori Joins #GivingTuesday Movement

GLADWYNE, PA – Gladwyne Montessori (@GladwyneMontess) has joined #GivingTuesday, a new effort to 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.

Taking place December 3, 2013 – 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.

Gladwyne Montessori, a non-profit independent school for students from age 2 to Middle School, is excited to partner with #GivingTuesday to encourage students and families to give back during the holiday season. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that children should learn about their place in the world at a very young age and to learn about giving back.

“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life,” Dr. Montessori said.

As part of #GivingTuesday, Gladwyne Montessori students are being encouraged to add hats or mittens to the holiday tree to support Cradles to Crayons or to contribute canned goods for Philabundance. Parents and friends of the school who donate to Gladwyne Montessori’s Annual Giving Campaign on or before December 3 will receive a copy of the hardcover book “Gladwyne Montessori: The First 50 Years” as a thank you. The annual giving campaign raises money each year to close the gap left by school tuition to provide a 21st century education to students.

Currently thousands of corporate and nonprofit organizations have committed to participate in the initiative. #GivingTuesday is endorsed by Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Dorothy A. Johnson Center on Philanthropy, Giving Institute, Giving USA Foundation and InterAction. Charity Navigator, Givewell and GuideStar are serving as Charity Advisors. VolunteerMatch is a volunteer advisor to #GivingTuesday.

“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation, one of #GivingTuesday’s founding organizations. “The most meaningful gift we can give 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 Gladwyne Montessori’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit http://givingtuesday.org/partner/gladwyne-montessori. For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow #GivingTuesday (https://twitter.com/GivingTues) and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.