November 28, 2017 marks the sixth annual #GivingTuesday, a global movement celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving on which individuals and groups and empowered to turn verbal support for good causes into action. The campaign uses social media forces for good, and creates a ripple effect in the social media universe as the hashtag “#GivingTuesday” takes over newsfeeds across the world.

But perhaps a recent Facebook post from #GivingTuesday’s official page sums it up best: “#GivingTuesday is about all kinds of giving. Treat a friend to lunch, open the door for your neighbor, by [sic] a colleague a coffee. Do whatever you can – big or small – to spread kindness and the spirit of #GivingTuesday today!”

If you haven’t yet found a way to get involved and are wondering how to be a part of #GivingTuesday, this sentiment is reassuring.

From buying a coffee for the woman behind you in the line at Starbucks to sending a handwritten card to a friend or relative you haven’t connected with in a while, you’re actively taking part in #GivingTuesday.

But if you want to dig in deeper, the day is far from over and you’ve got plenty of time to research the causes you’d like to support in a meaningful way. The #GivingTuesday website makes it easy for you to search specific organizations in your area or search by organization type to find something that resonates with you.

Important to remember about #GivingTuesday is that “giving” does not necessarily translate to dollars and cents. Volunteering your time in any way, big or small, counts as an act worthy of the hashtag all over your social channels.

For instance, if providing healthy exercise outlets to kids is something you’re passionate about, like Chicago Run for example, volunteering is as accessible as a monetary donation.  #GivingTuesday can serve as a jumping off point for you to establish a volunteering goal for yourself, like becoming a running buddy or cheerleader to a child in the program.

Here at aSweatLife, we firmly believe that everything is better with friends – and volunteering can fall squarely in that category of “everything.” Grab a friend to help keep you accountable to your volunteering goals and with whom you can share the feel-good vibes that inevitably come when you know you’re helping others out in an impactful way.

If you haven’t found a cause or community that you feel so inspired to either donate towards or volunteer your time to, check out these wellness-related nonprofits with on-the-ground efforts in many cities. Perhaps one will serve as your jumping off point to be a part of #GivingTuesday today and many more days to come. And if you want to find a charity that’s local to you, the Charity Navigator advanced search option allows you to search and peruse charities by cities or Zip code.

National options:

Healthy Schools Campaign

Nationally and locally, this organization aims to create healthy school environments where kids can learn and build healthy habits focused on nutrition, physical activity and healthy relationships.

You can give, attend events and more.

Bright Pink

Bright Pink aims to save women’s lives from breast and ovarian cancer by empowering them to live proactively at a young age and offering tools to take action and drive awareness.

You can volunteer, sponsor, host an educational workshop and much much more.

GirlForward

Launched in Chicago and spreading to more cities in 2017 and beyond, this nonprofit mentoring program to hundred of refugee girls of high school age started with one entrepreneur’s vision (who we just so happened to interview for the #WeGotGoals podcast).

You can donate, mentor, tutor and more.

Mindful Schools

In order to better help parents, teachers and students cope with and diffuse toxic stress, Mindful Schools built two types of trainings – mindfulness and heartfulness – as the foundation of stress management. Since the start of the Mindful Schools, more than 10,000 people have been through the course and now implement the programs in all 50 states.

You can donate or take a mindfulness course to learn the essentials of mindfulness.

 

Use this day can act as a match to strike a flame that continues to burn throughout the giving season and all year round.