Giving Tuesday
Justice Isn't A Day - but Today is a Good Day to Recommit to It
Sometime in 2012, someone had the idea that, shortly after we overspend on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we should consider donating to worthy charities on Giving Tuesday. I’m not sure how I feel about a designated day for charitable donations - the commandment to give tzedakah is constant and is not about charity. In Jewish tradition, giving is about justice.
All the same, these weeks leading up to the end of the year are an ideal time to recommit to using all our resources in the fight for justice, including whatever financial support we can muster.
These donations are not about charity, but about partnership/allyship in the work of building a more just society. I’m preparing my list of organizations to invest in. These are the groups doing the work on the ground. Some of them are actual charities (501 (c) (3) organizations), and some are not. But they all need resources to continue doing their work.
Below, you will find a few of the organizations I am supporting and working with this year.
Think about: Where are you directing your resources? Who are you investing in? Who are you standing with?
Tzedakah isn’t charity. It’s justice. It’s what we owe.
To serve a local immigrant community, I am donating to Unides Para Servir Norristown.
Unides is a small grassroots self-help organization of and for the Latino immigrant community of Norristown, PA. This community has been hit hard, drastically, and devastatingly by the draconian and inhumane actions of the federal government. Unides provides mutual support, administrative support, children’s activities, informal English-language learning for adults, crisis response, and leadership skills and mentoring. It is a place for folks to gather and get their needs met. Unides is also a primary sponsor and home to Montco Community Watch, which documents and tracks unconstitutional detentions in the area.
Unides is small and very grassroots - you can get money directly into the hands of marginalized and threatened community members right away. They provide financial assistance to the families of detained individuals, many of whom are the primary breadwinners.
Donate through Venmo; a little goes a long way: https://account.venmo.com/u/Unidesparaservirnorristown
To help immigrants and refugees more broadly, I am supporting HIAS.
HIAS once organized to help Jewish refugees new to the US; then they served as a conduit for Jews to help refugees fleeing persecution across the globe resettle in the US. Now, they are fighting for the very right to maintain a refugee program. They continue to serve the refugee families they work with.
I am also supporting civil rights and the rule of law by donating to the ACLU. They are working overtime to protect people by protecting their (our) rights. Join me in donating here.
Locally, I feel compelled to pay special attention to those suffering from homelessness, poverty, and lack of resources this winter, especially as the social safety net has disintegrated due to the draconian and cruel policies of this administration. I am supporting Family Promise of Montgomery County and Main Line: An Interfaith Response to Homelessness and Hunger.
What are you supporting and investing in this Giving Tuesday? Who are you partnering with?