November is a busy month filled with yard work, schoolwork, preparing for the holidays, spending time with family, shopping, shopping, and more shopping. As shopping holidays such as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday have gained popularity in the last decade, the emphasis on buying and spending has become the focus of the last week of November. Recently however, November has become about something else too – giving.
In the last few years, a new day of recognition, Giving Tuesday, has emerged to highlight the good that can be done when people rally together to make positive change. According to the official Giving Tuesday website, “GivingTuesday is an opportunity for people around the world to come together through generosity in all its forms by sharing acts of kindness and giving their voice, time, money, goods, and advocacy to support communities and causes.”
Giving Tuesday isn’t about how much or what you can give, it’s about how you can give back and make a positive difference in the world. We’ve put together a list of 5 ways that you can give back this year without opening your wallet. You might even make money in the process!
Give Blood
There is always a need for blood. Giving blood is an easy and rewarding way to give back this holiday season while changing the lives of many in the process. Donating blood usually takes less than an hour and one donation can help save up to three lives. If you’re a first-time donor and would like to learn more about the process, check out The American Red Cross website where they outline each step for those who haven’t donated blood before. Many Red Cross locations also give out free swag to those who donate as an added thank you! For those donating in the next few weeks, they’ll get a $10 Amazon gift card! This applies to everyone who donates before 12/15.
Apply to become a blood donor today and give back in a meaningful way!
Donate Your Eggs
Unlike giving blood, donating one’s eggs is a much bigger time and emotional commitment, but the rewards and impact on those who have been unable to grow a family of their own are monumental. Egg donation is when a young woman undergoes an egg retrieval procedure to obtain a small number of eggs that will then be used by another person or couple to create embryos and have a child or children of their own. If you’re between the ages of 21 and 29 and want to give back in an incredibly meaningful way, egg donation can be an amazing way to do that. The egg donation process takes roughly 3-4 weeks, but the full process from application to matching with parents to actually donating can be about 3-4 months. If you’re interested in finding out if you qualify to become an egg donor, you can review the requirements here. There are many reasons why women decide to become egg donors and wanting to give another family the opportunity to grow is an amazing one. In addition to how rewarding an egg donation journey can be, egg donors are also compensated for their donations and first time donors earn $9,000 for their first donation!
Apply to become an egg donor today and help make parenthood possible for a family in need.
Volunteer Your Time
Time is one of the most precious things we have in life and one of the most rewarding ways to spend time is through volunteering and giving back in your community. Within the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of charities that are looking for volunteers just like you. There are organizations who work to feed our most vulnerable populations like Meals on Wheels, an org that supplies meals to the elderly; Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization; No Kid Hungry, an organization working to end childhood hungry across the US; and local food banks in your area that feed your community. Volunteering your time can help feed multiple families and spread joy to those who need it most.
Looking to volunteer, but not sure where to start? Apply to become a volunteer and be matched with an organization near you.
Become a Surrogate
Like with egg donation, becoming a surrogate is a serious commitment, but it has one of the very best rewards: helping others create a family You may be wondering, what is surrogacy? Surrogacy is a method of assisted reproduction where intended parents work with a gestational surrogate who will carry and care for their baby(ies) until birth. Gestational surrogates do not use their own eggs and have no genetic relationship to the child they carry. Intended parents use surrogacy to start or grow their families when they can’t do so on their own. Becoming a gestational surrogate is an extremely rewarding experience that yields a remarkable gift – a baby! If you meet the requirements and are interested in giving back in a big way this year, becoming a surrogate can be a wonderful way to do that! Not only do surrogates get the satisfaction of helping grow another family in an tremendously impactful way, they are also compensated! Surrogates can make up to $60,000 for the surrogacy journey and are able to give back at the same time.
Apply to become a surrogate today and change your life and the life of another family in the most rewarding way!
Shop & Give
Shopping is a big part of the holiday season and sometimes charitable giving just isn’t in the budget. The good news is, that doesn’t mean that you can’t give back! There are ways to give back that don’t cost any money, but help make the most of the money you’re already spending. When shopping on Amazon this holiday season, sign up for an AmazonSmile account so a portion of your purchase price is donated to the charity of your choice! All you need to do is register your account, select the charity you’d like to support, and start shopping! You can buy gifts for your friends and family while also giving back to an organization that is meaningful to you!
There is no better feeling than giving back and making the world a better place for yourself and others. This Giving Tuesday, give back in a way that feels right to you, and you may even be rewarded for it!