Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. Occurring this year on Tuesday, November 28, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate on improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support. The day joins nonprofit organizations, charities, families, businesses, and individuals to transform the way people think about, talk about and participate in this season of giving.

Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay will be one of several #GivingTuesday partner organizations that provide opportunities to give. You can support your community through Goodwill in a variety of ways – donate goods or funds, or lend your voice through advocacy. Most people know Goodwill as a brand name for its stores, but the basis of the mission is to provide people with disadvantages and disabilities opportunities to obtain employment, which is essential to improving health, educational attainment and equity. As an organization, we know that true progress comes from the economic growth and stability of communities.

“We all know it’s a difficult time to make it in the Bay Area,” says Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay’s president and CEO, Jim Caponigro. “Our job training programs serve the most difficult-to-reach audiences, such as those with a history of generational poverty, individuals recently released from jail, and disabled veterans, people who have more to overcome now than ever before.”

If you donate your used goods, such as household items, clothing, and electronic accessories, they are sold in one of our more than 30 stores and the revenue is used to create employment placement, job training programs, and support services for people who face challenges to finding employment. Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay changes lives by training people who are unemployed or underemployed for careers in fields such as, information technology, health care, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, automotive services, as well as in other high-demand industries.

92Y − a cultural center in New York City that, since 1874, has been bringing people together around its core values of community service and giving back − conceptualized #GivingTuesday as a new way of linking individuals and causes to strengthen communities and encourage giving. In 2016, the fifth year of #GivingTuesday, millions of people in 98 countries came together to give back and support the causes they believe in. More than $177 million was raised online to benefit a tremendously broad range of organizations, and much more was given in volunteer hours, donations of food and clothing, and acts of kindness.

“We have been incredibly inspired by the generosity in time, efforts and ideas that have brought our concept for a worldwide movement into reality,” said Henry Timms, founder of #GivingTuesday and executive director of 92Y. “As we embark on our sixth year of #GivingTuesday, we are encouraged by the early response from partners’ eagerness to continue making an impact in this global conversation.”

Those who are interested in joining Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit http://eastbaygoodwill.org/donate/ to donate.

For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow @GivingTues and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on social media.

About #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a global giving movement that has been built by individuals, families, organizations, businesses and communities in all 50 states and in countries around the world. This year, #GivingTuesday falls on November 28. #GivingTuesday harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season. It inspires people to take collective action to improve their communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they believe in, and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday demonstrates how every act of generosity counts, and that they mean even more when we give together.