Daily Mail editorial page
Charleston Gazette-Mail
You gorged yourself and enjoyed time with family on Thanksgiving Day. You got up early, battled the crowds and survived Black Friday.
You hit the downtowns and shopped small to support locally owned businesses on Small Business Saturday. You stayed at your keyboard and found good deals on Cyber Monday.
Now it’s Tuesday. What do you do? How about using that Christmas spirit to give to the community and take part in #GivingTuesday?
“Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving,” the Charleston-based organization says.
“Help support the work of the United Way of Central WV by taking part in our #GivingTuesday campaign to raise $10,000 in 24 hours!”
If that amount is raised within the 24-hour period, the organization’s new president has promised to spend a night on the roof of the local United Way building near the Interstate 64/77-79 split.
Why Margaret O’Neil would want to spend the night on top of One United Way Square — being kept awake by the sounds of speeding cars, noisy trucks and low-flying aircraft — is anyone’s guess. But it proves the energetic new CPO is as dedicated to the cause and as zany (in a good way) in her commitment to the community as was her predecessor, John Ballengee.
O’Neil and her staff ask that you donate $5, $50, $100 or $1,000 at www.unitedwaycwv.org/givenow, and then post the message: “I gave today, have you?” Tag @unitedwayofcentralwv with the hashtags #unitedwayofcwv and #GivingTuesday.
Yes, the idea is silly. But it serves as a good reminder of how, when all of us are concentrating our time and thoughts on giving to loved ones, we need to consider the needs of the community, too.
Help others in the Kanawha Valley by taking part in #GivingTuesday and put that zany new United Way president up on the roof for a night. That’ll show her that the community’s commitment to help is as crazy as she is.
See more from the Charleston Gazette-Mail
