Giving Tuesday: How to give back in Dayton

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Local charities are hoping to snag a little bit of that spending cash for a good cause this holiday season.

Giving Tuesday, a global event, encourages consumers to take a step back from the buying frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to focus on helping the less fortunate. The amount that will be raised for charities pales in comparison to what consumers bought for themselves and others during the Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend.

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Giving Tuesday started in 2012 by a group of New Yorkers who were disturbed by the circus of materialism during Black Friday. Locally, nonprofits in Dayton, Springfield and Buter County are asking consumers to give generously during the holidays.

Search for nonprofits participating near you here.

Organizations that are participating in Giving Tuesday this year include local universities, the Dayton Red Cross, the Yellow Springs Senior Center and Miami Twp.-based 365 Project. Here are some others that are getting involved:

  • Wesley Community Center will celebrate with the dedication of its newly built food pantry among other things at its 2018 Open House on Tuesday from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Center (3730 Delphos Avenue). The dedication will take place promptly at 5:30 p.m. "For the first time in its history of the Wesley Community Center providing food to thousands of families, we have an enclosed, climate controlled food pantry for with a commercial refrigerator and freezer. In this new shopping environment, the families we serve will be able to have an enjoyable shopping experience in a vibrant well-lit space that is warm in the winter and cold in the summer," shared executive director Yvette Kelly-Fields. "Our newly paved parking lot provides customers a safe and accessible pathway from the food pantry to their cars. With the center's goal to increase the number of individuals served by 40 percent, and to expand the number of food pantry users who become involved in ongoing education, employment and case management services by 10 percent, this new space is a necessary piece to making that happen."
  • The Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Center (JCC), Jewish Family Services, and Foundation are encouraging people to give back on Tuesday. The groups are encouraging people to volunteer at Clothes That Work from 10 a.m. to noon and Soup for St. Vincent's at the Boonshoft CJCE from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Dayton's YWCA is giving away free coffee at Table 33 all day to say "thank you" to Dayton for giving to the YWCA all year long. " We'll be at Table 33 in the morning at 8:30 a.m. "

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