Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. Created in the U.S. in 2012, Giving Tuesday is now a global movement that promotes generosity among individuals and organizations. 

The movement centers around the act of giving – time, money, kindness, and talent. Giving Tuesday’s website encourages people to share their good deeds on social media with the hashtag #Unselfie, to inspire others to give of their time.  

Although the event is celebrated on December 1st, people are encouraged to ‘make every day a giving day.’ Examples of ways people are planning on giving back include serenading neighbors, hosting a virtual story time, or donating food to charities. 

Needed More Than Ever

This year the need to give back is greater than ever, as many people are experiencing great difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some people have suffered the loss of loved ones, their livelihoods, their mental wellbeing, etc. This, in turn, has led people to need to rely on others, to simply get by financially, physically, or emotionally. Receiving support, whether it’s financial, emotional, or in other ways may provide them with some peace of mind, remind them that things will get better, or even change their lives.

How Seniors Benefit from Giving Tuesday

One group who is especially vulnerable because of the pandemic, are seniors. Seniors, who have the highest death toll among the different age groups, are also hit hard by the effects of social distancing. Many have had to go weeks or months without seeing their family members, friends, or even neighbors, which has, in turn, made them feel alone and isolated. You can read more about senior isolation, and the mental and physical effects it produces, here.

Ways To Help Seniors

Below are some ways to help seniors in your community:

• Checking in on a senior
• Bringing over a meal
• Offering to rake leaves
• Offering to pick up items / do grocery shopping
• Ask if they need anything fixed
• Regularly call a senior you know

Helping Seniors Every Day For Over 40 Years

Established in 1975, DSCC is a volunteer-driven organization that seeks to improve the lives of seniors who live independently. At DSCC, we live out our mission statement every day by staff and volunteers who dedicate their days, weeks, and years to improving the lives of those who are most frail, vulnerable, and often forgotten. In other words, we ensure that each senior we serve goes to bed each night knowing they are truly loved.

We offer many services similar to the ideas we suggested above including well-being checks, home meal delivery, yard clean-ups, friend visits, minor home repairs, and friendly phone calls. Unfortunately, as we wrote in a previous article, we, along with many other nonprofits have been receiving fewer donations than before, making the need for help greater than in past years.

Join Us And Make Giving Tuesday A Daily Event

Giving back on December 1st is a great gesture that generates positive results. Those who want to go one step further and make a lasting difference can join us to make Giving Tuesday more than a one-day event.

The best ways which you can help fulfill our mission of serving older adults:

• Volunteer with DSCC to do some of these generous acts we mentioned before which greatly benefit seniors. To learn more about volunteering, click here.

• Designate DSCC as your charity of choice in the Amazon Smiles program. If you’re unfamiliar with Amazon Smiles, it provides an easy way to support us every time you shop, at no cost to you. Simply designate DuPage Senior Citizens Council as the charity you want to support and Amazon donates their money to DSCC on your behalf.

• Donate to DSCC on a reoccurring basis – helping ensure that seniors will continue to benefit from the multiple services we offer. There are multiple ways to donate.

Giving Tuesday is a great day to start giving, but the need doesn’t go away. We offer easy ways to make a difference on December 1 and every day after that which is both rewarding for you and life-changing for a senior.