Giving Tuesday! Spotlight on What Matters

While I share a lot on this little space about my adventures trying to stay stylish on a limited budget (of time and money) I also hope to use any readership I have to talk about things that really matter, hence, GIVING TUESDAY.   Giving Tuesday is actually a term coined for the day after Cyber Monday (and following close behind Black Friday).   So much of the holiday season is focused on shopping and material gifts that Giving Tuesday was created to bring people back to the real spirit of the season.   Lest we forget – giving is important every day of the year, not just during the holidays.   Persons and causes that are in need during the holiday season don’t bounce back when December comes to a close.   So today I’m starting a new, weekly series on Instagram that I’m calling GIVING TUESDAY.

PUT YOUR SHOPPING ON HOLD FOR JUST A MOMENT TO DO SOMETHING GOOD.  

This blogging trip has taken me down unexpected roads and I am winging it a lot more than it might appear.   So how I start this series and how it plays out down the road may be two different things.  My hope is to take any sort of Internet “popularity” I can get and use to to highlight important causes, challenges, and people who are doing something about it.  There are even fashion brands who are fiercely devoted to giving back- WOOT WOOT!  Should they be in need of a middle aged model I’m publicly offering myself right here and now!

Giving Tuesday

I have been blessed with a husband who was willing to learn how to use a camera to take pictures for my blog.   (He’s also willing to publicly embarrass himself playing paparazzi to a 35 year old woman in awkward poses on public sidewalks).  My husband would not be here if it weren’t for the Plymouth House which helped him get sober in September 2015.  So I am taking what I could have hypothetically paid him (were he a charging photographer) and donating $1,000 to the Plymouth House Scholarship fund to help another family battling the struggles of addiction.

Giving doesn’t have to be a financial commitment.   I certainly have been through times where it was a bit tougher to make monetary contribution to a cause I felt strongly about.  Through a lot of hours and hard work blogging has allowed me some additional income to put into my kids’ college funds but beyond that I was getting by without this income before it all started, so I hope to pay much of it forward.  (Full disclosure: I also want to put some back into some house projects I will share on my blog as well if success allows).

I encourage others to join the party.  I ask my son to draw pictures for relatives who aren’t feeling well or to donate toys to those less fortunate.   Unfortunately he’s without a paycheck (because I often feel like he should pay me rent with what I have to put up with ;), so you can always get creative with ways to celebrate GIVING TUESDAY.  I love the saying:

YOU WILL NEVER BECOME POOR FROM GIVING.

Poor?  I become rich with giving.  My husband and I talk a lot about how sometimes it feels selfish to give.   It’s a rewarding feeling to give to others.   Giving feels good, so its worth any “expense”, be it your time or money, that you used to capture that feeling.

If you know of brands, individuals, or causes that you think are working highlighting please let me know!!   In the meantime I encourage you to try and think of new ways each Tuesday to give to others.   Once you get into a weekly habit and have Tuesdays down, add Fridays, etc.   You will become richer every day!

Share the wealth.  Tell your friend, tell your mom, tell the person behind you at Starbucks.  It’s GIVING TUESDAY.   (In fact, buy their coffee and simply ask them to pay the kindness forward).

Happy #GIVINGTUESDAY my friends.  I’d love for you to spread the word!