Each year, millions of Americans participate in end-of-year food pantry drives, holiday toy drives, days of service, charitable giving or simply engaging in acts of random kindness and generosity.

In 2012, GivingTuesday was founded by New York's 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation to promote charitable seasonal giving and to give these activities their own special day. After the excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, people from across the globe come together to celebrate non-profits, the work they do and the people who make the work possible. In doing so, GivingTuesday participants change countless lives.

This year, GivingTuesday will take place on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. 

Often stylized as #GivingTuesday for purposes of hashtag activism, GivingTuesday was created to help kick off the "giving season," and remind people that there is more to holidays than consumerism and commercialization.

How to Celebrate Giving Tuesday

At Ochsner Health, GivingTuesday activities support the Excellence Fund, which is funded entirely by our donors' generosity. Annually, teams throughout Ochsner submit applications and a committee selects projects to receive support from the fund. These projects create opportunities for improvements and innovations in patient care that change and save lives every day.

Since 2013, donors have helped support more than 140 projects. Through the help of our donors and our entire team here at Ochsner, we can continue carrying out our vision of being a global medical and academic leader that changes and saves lives. Each one of you plays a significant part in Ochsner's success, and we thank you for your support and your commitment. We hope that you will join us and others in our community on GivingTuesday to spread the message of generosity during this holiday season.

You can join the movement by visiting Ochsner.org/givingtuesday and making a gift – no donation is too small!

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 20, 2018.