To honor ‘Giving Tuesday,’ ‘Big Give Knox’ online push Dec. 3
Knoxville/Farragut area organizations are jumping on the national “Giving Tuesday” bandwagon with “Big Give Knox,” offering an opportunity to give online Tuesday, Dec. 3, to local non-profits to kick off this holiday season.
More than 100 organizations are partnering with “Big Give Knox” on its website, www.biggiveknox.org/, including Knoxville Habitat for Humanity, Knoxville-Knox County Mobile Meals, Knox Heritage, Make-a-Wish East Tennessee, Remote Area Medical, Boys and Girls Clubs, March of Dimes, Random Acts of Flowers, Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley Alzheimer’s Association and Emerald Youth Foundation — just to name a few.
An anonymous donor is pledging up to $50,000 in matching donations, and 18 in-cash “prizes” are being offered by the United Way of Greater Knoxville in a variety of categories, such as $1,000 for the organization that reaches $10,000 in online donations first or $2,000 for the organization that receives the most online donations from 2 to 3 p.m.
Kim Frazier, co-founder of Hardin Valley Planning Advocates among her many leadership and volunteer roles, said the Knox County Rescue Squad (which her husband, Russ Frazier, leads), Hardin Valley Academy Foundation (which the couple helped found earlier this year), Paws & Badges and Restoration House are among her personally supported charities.
“It’s easy,” she said. “Simply Google ‘Big Give Knox,’ find your favorite charity and give. The point is to give, and to give big.”
“Giving Tuesday” was founded in 2012 by New York City’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations “as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving season (Black Friday and Cyber Monday),” according to the organization’s website.
Instead, it was hoped to begin an annual international day of charitable giving — an idea catching fire on social media that has expanded in the years since. More than $400 million was pledged last year, funds which were assisted in part by Facebook and Pay Pal matching pledges.
