Together We Give
Social Distance cannot get in the way of our social connections, and our communities are growing connective tissue under this stress like we never knew we could. Athletes know that muscle is built when we break it down, and similarly, this time, my friends, is making us stronger than we could imagine.
In the spirit of that strength, tomorrow, Tuesday May 5, 2020 is a newly-minted global day of giving and unity.
#GivingTuesday has, for years, been a day in December among the hustle and bustle of shopping and spending with Black Friday and sales and storming the malls, to give us an opportunity to support the non-profits and causes we care for most deeply.
This year, we’re adding #GivingTuesdayNow – it is an emergency response to COVID-19 and the decimating effect it has had on people and good works. Take the day as an occasion to show your full-throated support for healthcare workers and first responders. Stand strong with teachers and grocery and delivery and food service industries. Help support small businesses and purchase some gift cards as an investment in their, and your, future.
GIVE to the charitable organizations you love most—their need has not diminished but their financial standing has. Fundraisers have been canceled, giving has dwindled to nearly dry, events have been postponed, but the non-profits you have always known make the world turn are STILL serving the communities and individuals they have always served.
The Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF.org) that I have volunteered with for quite a few years, now, is still doing everything for burn survivors. People have not stopped getting burned—in fact, with shelter-in-place situations, more fire and burn accidents are happening with people spending so much more time at home, more time cooking and baking, more time in small spaces together, more bored teens and kids creating fire accidents (or weird “challenges”). Burn units in hospitals are not empty—and so our work has not slowed…but the financial support, unfortunately, has.
If you can see a way to it, consider supporting our AARBF online fundraiser here.
And while you are at supporting WHATEVER cause matters to you most, check in on your friends and family. Reach out with a call or ZOOM or facetime or any means of connection you can forge. Even in crowded houses, people are feeling alone.
Your generosity of dollars and of spirit are EVERYTHING this Giving Tuesday, and every single day. The need for you, and all you have to bless with your presence, your voice, your energy, and your healing heart, has never been greater.
I cannot thank you enough for what you give.
I love you.
You likely already know that today is 
Change by Doing 