For many, the holiday shopping frenzy began on Thanksgiving Day, continued on Black Friday and rolls along through Cyber Monday and on to Christmas Eve.
The search for the perfect gift sometimes overshadows the true meaning of the season. Enter #GivingTuesday, the social movement that kicks off the charitable giving season and puts the spotlight back on helping others.
Celebrated the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving — Nov. 29 this year — the day is set aside to encourage participants to come together to make a difference by donating time or money to the charities of their choice. Supporters are urged to spread the word about giving on social media with the hashtag #GivingTuesday and share stories about what inspired them to give.
Several United Methodist agencies and ministries are participating in #GivingTuesday again this year, offering churchgoers a variety of ways to contribute online.
South Carolina
One of the best ways to get involved is in your own state and community. Your donation to one or more of these South Carolina ministries – either directed by or affiliated with the S.C. Conference of the UMC – will ensure the greatest impact on the lives of those most in need, right here at home:
- Donations to the S.C. Conference’s disaster relief efforts allow the Conference’s Early Response Teams and disaster recovery teams to respond quickly and appropriately to emergencies in the state, such as the current efforts following Hurricane Matthew and the flooding of 2015.
- Giving to the S.C. Conference’s Advance Special Ministries will help strengthen a wide range of United Methodist ministries: Alston Wilkes Society, Bennettsville-Cheraw Area Cooperative Ministry, Bethlehem Community Centers in Columbia and Spartanburg, Coastal Samaritan Counseling Center, Interfaith Community Services Inc., Jubilee Academy, Killingsworth Inc., People Attempting To Help in York, Rural Mission Inc., The Tracy Jackson Program of GIFT, S.C. United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, United Ministries of Greenville, and the Wallace Family Life Center.
- Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry helps build homes for adults with special needs, so that they can live in a Christian environment with a professional staff dedicated to providing a loving home.
- Asbury Hills Camp and Retreat Center offers summer camp and retreat group experiences on 2,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, providing opportunities for Christian birth, growth and renewal. Donations help pay for scholarships for campers who otherwise might not be able to attend camp.
- Epworth Children’s Home provides group residential care for children and youth from broken family systems across South Carolina.
To donate to these and many other worthy ministries of the S.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church, go to umcsc.org and click on “Register/Donate.”
National/International
- Donations to UMCOR’s Advance U.S. Disaster Response allows the United Methodist Committee on Relief to respond quickly and appropriately to emergencies here and across the United States. Giving to UMCOR’s Advance International Disaster Response helps UMCOR respond around the globe, including to places like Haiti that were devastated by Hurricane Matthew.
- The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries encourages giving to the denomination’s Advance designated-giving projects. Last year, nearly 6,000 donors from 27 countries donated $2.8 million through The Advance to support mission and ministries around the world. Every dollar goes directly to the missionary or project selected by the donor. Over the past three years, Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief have matched designated Giving Tuesday gifts up to set levels; however, the match will not be offered this year. There are more than 800 projects and over 300 missionaries available to support, with programs that range from building schools and churches in remote areas to supplying communities with clean water and aiding in the fight to end hunger.
- The Society of St. Andrew and Stop Hunger Now are two of the many organizations that receive support from The United Methodist Church’s Advance program. Both are participating in Giving Tuesday this year. For every dollar donated to its hunger ministry on Nov. 29, St. Andrew will match with 10 pounds of potatoes, pledged by the ministry’s generous farmers. Stop Hunger Now urges supporters to join the fight against hunger and use the hashtag #HowWeRise to get friends and family involved. Search for more Advance projects by location, topic or missionary at umcmission.org/advance.
- The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry welcomes contributions to the scholarship funds it administers.
- The United Methodist Board of Discipleship welcomes donations to Ebola prevention resources and the Wesley Pilgrimage.
- Both Discipleship Ministries and Higher Education and Ministries welcome donations to the E-Reader Project for theological education in Africa and Asia.
- United Methodist Communications welcomes gifts to communication and information technology for international development.
- Imagine No Malaria, a ministry of the people of The United Methodist Church, welcomes gifts to support the effort to eliminate malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Donations also can be made online to the United Methodist Men Foundation, United Methodist Women and the UMC Foundation, which supports other United Methodist agencies and ministries, including Black Methodists for Church Renewal and Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans.
