Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, a global celebration of giving back! As a teacher, you can harness the momentum of this special day to benefit your students, classroom, and community. Guide your students through gratitude activities Harvard professor Francesca Gino studies what she calls the “gratitude effect”. Giving or receiving a thank-you, she says, contributes to higher levels of self-worth and triggers positive behaviors towards others.You can incorporate DonorsChoose.org thank-you notes into a classroom lesson on gratitude (and letter writing). In the words of Meredith, a DonorsChoose.org teacher, “Thank you notes are one of my favorite parts about the DonorsChoose process. As an educator, I love that I am able to instill the habit of ‘saying thanks’ in my students.”Don’t have a recently funded project to get your students "thanking"? Use these gratitude activities to celebrate the day with them.
Encourage your friends and family to contribute close to home
The word about Giving Tuesday has been spreading for years. Tomorrow, your family, friends and local community will be primed with messages about the importance of giving. By sharing your DonorsChoose.org projects, you’ll provide a personal destination for their gifts.If you haven’t already, customize your public profile link. Then, share your project through e-mail and social media. On Facebook and Twitter, you could write something like: It’s #GivingTuesday! Please consider supporting my students at [insert your public profile link here]. You’ll make a direct, lasting contribution to the lives of these amazing kids.
Support a colleague
Have teachers in your school been asking about your success with DonorsChoose.org? Help them post! Are you and a colleague both DonorsChoose.org novices? Support each other as you create your first projects. Giving Tuesday is the perfect opportunity to lend a helping hand. Check out this blog post and presentation from our teacher outreach team for pro tips.Happy Giving Tuesday Eve! How are you making Giving Tuesday a part of your life? Please share in comments!
