In conversation with Giving Tuesday
Good evening Beautiful souls,
I know we are at the tail end of Giving Tuesday but I wanted hop on the blog and share three simple ways you can support mental health organizations and/or movements on the daily. The points I will be sharing are part of a conversation I had with the Giving Tuesday crew. Before we get to the how, let me discuss the what.
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global ‘do good’ day which is observed the Tuesday after U.S Thanksgiving Day (today). It started in 2012 in the U.S as a day to encourage people to do good, and has since grown into a global movement. Every year, thousands of people and organizations across the globe use this day to do good, collaborate with or contribute to organizations that do good.
This year, Giving Tuesday had a broadcast that featured various personalities and organizations doing good across the globe. I was invited to speak about the good I do in the mental health space and to share how people can support mental health organizations and movements. The three keys things I shared are;
Stigma is the greatest challenge people struggling with mental health go through, do good by holding space for the people around you.
Related to stigma is the lack of proper information, do good by using your platforms + networks to amplify positive mental health narratives…in short, let people know that it is ok, that they are ok just as they are, that they will be ok.
There is a huge mental health workforce gap, especially for Africans and Afro-Descendants, do good by helping bridge the gap through sponsorsing early stage service providers to register and attend trainings and conferences or by contributing to scholarships funds.
Closer home, you can support this mental health movement - my mind my funk - by;
Subscribing to Funky Notes - monthly newsletter (sign up at the end of this post)
‘Buying me coffee (or spice Apple Cider)’ to help with opportunity costs associated with researching and preparing for Season 5 of our seasonal podcast (dropping in Spring 2023)
Invite me to speak or facilitate a workshop - see my previous speaking engagements here and use the contact page to get in touch
With the ExtraGive Banner - image by Brian, CAP Lancaster
As an aside - ExtraGive Lancaster
Here in Lancaster (where I am based for my Pre Art Therapy schooling), there is an annual Giving Tuesday type event called ExtraGive. This localized campaign features organizations based in Lancaster and for 24 hours businesses and residents in the area are encouraged to contribute to their favorite charities. I volunteered in this year’s event, which was on Friday November 18th. Over 450 organizations participated and they collectively got $10.18M which was contributed by over 24,000 donors.
I leave you with an Instagram Reel of Lancaster’s ExtraGive from my (volunteer) point of view. Let me know in the comments what your experiences with giving for social good have been? Any wonderful, or not so good, experiences?
Until next time - sending love and light,
Sitawa
