GivingTuesday 2021: Ways To Help Causes In Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — After a dayslong stretch of shopping and checking holiday gifts off your list, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving offers a moment to pause. It’s a day set aside for Alexandria residents to focus on gratitude and giving back.

While Alexandria has its own day of giving — Spring2Action held in the spring — residents also participate in GivingTuesday. GivingTuesday, observed this year on Nov. 30, is a global movement to inspire hundreds of millions of people to not only give, but to recognize and celebrate the generosity of others.

GivingTuesday and its mission also falls effortlessly in with "30 Days Of Gratitude," a Patch series exploring the intentionality of gratitude and how it enriches our lives.

Living with gratitude goes beyond merely being thankful. It doesn't mean pretending bad things don't happen, but rather savoring the goodness, according to experts on the topic, including Robert Emmons, a University of California - Davis psychology professor who is known as the "father of gratitude."

In short, living with gratitude is "an affirmation of goodness" and a recognition of the good in the world as the source of our individual gifts, benefits and blessings.

Gratitude is not singularly focused, Emmons said in a YouTube video for the Greater Good Science Center, but rather recognizes that the sources of goodness are other people who "gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives."

Supporting A Local Organization

While GivingTuesday has gained momentum worldwide, there are plenty of organizations and causes to support right here in Alexandria.

On Nov. 30, participating businesses will donate a portion of their purchases to Alexandria nonprofits in partnership with the Old Town Business Association. This year, there are three main nonprofits benefiting from this initiative: MedStreet, providing physician care to the homeless; The Dream Project, empowering students who have barriers to higher education because of immigration status; The Potomac Conservancy, working toward a clean and healthy Potomac River; and The Spitfire Club, empowering girls through after-school programs.

Participating businesses include:

• AR Workshop Alexandria, 1212 King Street
• Augie’s Mussel House, 1106 King Street
• Bishop Boutique, 815 King Street
• Emmy Squared Pizza, 124 King Street
• Enchanted Florist, 139 S. Fairfax Street
• Fibre space, 1319 Prince Street (supporting Project Knitwell)
• Lilly Pulitizer, 1123 King Street (supporting Medstreet)
• Lucky Knot, 101 King Street
• Nerds to Go, 321 S. Washington Street
• Penny Post, 1201 King Street
• Red Barn Mercantile, 1117 King Street
• Salon DeZen, 118 N. Fayette Street
• She’s Unique Boutique, 205 King Street
• Shop Made in Virginia, 1121 King Street
• Sonoma Cellar, 207 King Street
• The Dog Park, 705 King Street (supporting Project Second Chance)
• The Hive, 315 Cameron Street
• The Hour Shop, 1015 King Street (supporting Animal Welfare League of Alexandria)
• The Shoe Hive, 127 S. Fairfax Street
• The Warehouse Restaurant, 214 King Street
• Three Sisters Boutique, 213 King Street (supporting Medstreet)
• Twist Boutique, 109 N. Fairfax Street

Prefer to give to another cause? Here are a few other organizations you can support this GivingTuesday:

• Act for Alexandria: A foundation serving as a coordinator and funder to organizations serving Alexandria
• ALIVE!: A nonprofit providing safety net programs such as food assistance to Alexandrians in need
• Carpenter's Shelter: A homeless shelter in Alexandria helping its clients transition to independent living
• Animal Welfare League of Alexandria: Providing shelter and adoptions to pets in need and services for pet owners in Alexandria
• Islamic Relief USA: This Alexandria-based relief organization's Giving Tuesday campaign is focused on helping refugees during the colder months.

You can find suggestions of organizations to support from Great Nonprofits and Volunteer Alexandria.

How You Can Give

You can participate in a number of ways on GivingTuesday, according to the movement’s website. Here are a few ideas:

Give time: Volunteer virtually from your home. Give your voice to help raise awareness for a local issue, lend your talents to a nonprofit who needs your expertise, or take an hour to call a senior who may be lonely. See more opportunities online.

Give support: GivingTuesday is locally led in more than 240 U.S. communities, networks and coalitions. Find organizations to support through your local GivingTuesday community movement.

Give gratitude: Thank your postal carrier, delivery driver and other essential workers. Write thank-you cards, post on social media, and share your appreciation for the people and organizations who are helping your community.

What Is GivingTuesday?

GivingTuesday was created in New York City in 2012 with a simple goal: to encourage people to do good. Over the past nine years, the idea has grown into the global movement it is today.

The goal of GivingTuesday is “radical generosity” — the concept that the suffering of others should be as intolerable to us as our own suffering, according to the movement’s website.

And people are eager to give. Recent data shows that people are highly motivated to give in 2021 and are giving more in response to needs in their community and to causes they care about.

• Related: Opera Singer ‘Died’ But Lives On As Pianist: 30 Days Of Gratitude

A broad range of people and organizations participate in GivingTuesday, including families, nonprofits, schools, religious organizations, small businesses and corporations.

“Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts,” GivingTuesday’s website reads, “and everyone has something to give.”