Can you believe the holidays are almost here? Where did the time go? With the holiday season almost upon us, many of us are thinking about the gifts we’d like. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s easy to lose sight, especially around the holidays, that not everyone is as fortunate as us. To help remind people of the importance of giving, “Giving Tuesday” was created.

If you haven’t heard of Giving Tuesday, don’t feel too bad. It’s a relatively new concept. Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It happens on December 3^rd this year. As its name suggest, Giving Tuesday is an international day of charitable giving that happens at the beginning of the holiday season. It urges all Canadians to give back, either by making a donation, donating time, helping a neighbour or friend, or by simply spreading the word.

Now that you have a better understanding of what Giving Tuesday is, let’s take a look at four simple ways you can give back.

Volunteer
The holidays tend to be a busy time, but if you have a few hours to spare, why not put them to good use? Volunteering is a rewarding experience throughout the year, especially around the holidays. Thankfully there are plenty of volunteering opportunities around the holidays.

Bring Christmas joy to families in need with Holiday Helpers. Holiday Helpers’ goal is to provide customized Christmas packages to families with young children living in low-income situations. Lend a helping hand by assisting at its offices with family calls or organize and load donated items to its warehouse.

Give a Charitable Donation
If you can’t give the gift of time, why not give the gift of money? Not only do you get a tax break from giving a charitable donation, more importantly you’re helping those in need around the holidays. If that doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I don’t know what will.

Looking for a charity to donate to? The Red Door is a worthy charity. The Red Door has been providing families with shelter in emergency situations since 1982. The Red Door would very much appreciate a one-time donation or better yet, monthly giving.

Nellie’s is another charitable organization providing similar services to the Red Door worth donating to.

Donate a Holiday Gift
Would you rather give something more tangible than money? Why not give a gift? Charitable organizations like Holiday Helpers are looking for gifts around the holidays. Holiday Helpers has set the ambitious goal of helping 700 families in need this holiday season. Donate a holiday gift or two and help them reach their goal sooner.

Do you enjoy putting smiles on the faces of kids? Charities like the Toy Mountain would love your holiday gifts to donate to kids of all ages.

Schedule a Pick Up of Items to Donate
Every year we receive gifts we don’t quite get around to using. Before you know it one of those gifts becomes 10 gifts and so on. If you have gifts you haven’t gotten around to opening that another family is likely to enjoy, why not donate them? Organizations like Canadian Diabetes and Cerebral Palsy Federation make it super easy. They’ll come right to your door to pick up the gifts you’d like to donate.

These are just a few ways to give back on Giving Tuesday. Want to give back in other ways? Go ahead and be creative. Help a neighbour or an elderly person. As long as you’re helping, you’re doing your part to make the holidays more festive for those who really need it most.