Are you familiar with Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a response to the hyper-consumerism of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday and to encourage a mass movement to put the “giving” back into the holiday season. The idea is to take one day to give to non-profit organizations. I wrote about Giving Tuesday last year in a post titled Giving Tuesday: The Way to Truly Celebrate the Season and shared ideas for how you could give that would not just make you feel good, but would also create impact.

In honor of Giving Tuesday and also for today’s Random Act of Kindness, I’ve chosen to donate to three charities that each hold a special place in my heart because I’ve seen first hand how they change lives.

First, I’ve donated to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. For the past three years, doctors and nurses at this incredible hospital have loved and cared for the son of a childhood friend of mine with a rare disorder. In his short life, his medical team has performed miracle after miracle, but sadly a month ago, it was determined that there’s nothing more that can be done for him and he’s now in hospice. During it all, my friend has been an incredible advocate and mother for her son and has never once lost hope. The care that she has received not only for her son from the loving staff, but also for herself, have made what I can only imagine to be one of life’s most difficult journeys as peaceful and good as it can be. I gave today in honor of both my friend and her son, so that research can continue into his illness to hopefully find a cure for this horrible disorder, and that until then, families get the care and support they need.

Second, I’ve donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Almost 43 years ago, my cousin was diagnosed with Leukemia and given about 18 months to live. His parents drove from their home in Virginia to St. Jude’s in Memphis (most of our family lives just 60 miles south in Batesville, MS) in an effort to save his life. Back then, kids diagnosed with Leukemia did not live very long and it was expected that my cousin would be no exception. My cousin ended up living until he was 13. During the 12 years from his diagnosis until his death, he had some of the first bone marrow treatments ever given to children, among other experimental treatments that are now standard operating procedure to treat childhood cancers. His legacy lives on not only through these now routine treatments, but also through the St. Jude’s logo. He was their model. What I love most about St. Jude’s is their policy to treat all children, regardless of the family’s ability to pay. You can read a post I wrote a few years ago about my cousin here.

Finally, I support my alma mater, Lake Forest College. When I was looking at colleges just a couple of years ago, I had my pick because I had the grades and extracurriculars to go anywhere I desired. What I didn’t have was money. Thanks to an incredibly generous financial aid package that was mostly loan free, LFC made it possible for me to obtain a high quality education in the style in which I learned best. I never had a TA or sat in a class with more than 40 students. I developed relationships with classmates and faculty members that have lasted more than two decades. LFC gave me opportunities to grow and stretch and become a leader and it also gave me a safe space to learn the value of failing. I had all the experiences I needed to make me the person I am today. Higher education is a lot different today than it was back then when we still used typewriters. Through my regular donations, I want to make sure that today and tomorrow’s students have the opportunities they need to navigate the world as it currently exists and the ways in which it will change that we can’t even imagine yet without worrying about how they’ll afford it all.

I encourage you to perform a Random Act of Kindness today for Giving Tuesday and hope you’ll share it with me in the comments. Use the hashtags #31RAOK and #GivingTuesday.

By the way, my #31RAOK for yesterday was stopping by my mom’s house about 10:00 last night to say good night to her, give her a hug and a kiss, and tell her I love her.