Heifer International Helps Launch First-Ever Giving Tuesday

 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 26, 2012) – This Tuesday, Nov. 27, Heifer International takes part in the first-ever “Giving Tuesday,” a time to take stock of our holiday spending habits and ensure they reflect who we really are. With its gift catalog of animals, Heifer International is the leader in charity holiday gifts that are life-changing for both the honoree and the families who ultimately benefit. Through heifer.org, people cyber shopping on Giving Tuesday can donate to charity and help families around the world.

Heifer International’s new Giving Tuesday calculator tool allows you to see how much good your Black Friday savings could do when they’re put towards solutions to hunger and poverty, and helping families achieve self-reliance. You’ll find, for example, that $20 in savings could buy a flock of chicks that will go on to provide protein-rich eggs and meat for a whole family.

Giving Tuesday is a new initiative, spearheaded by groups such as the UN Foundation, the 92nd St. Y, InterAction and Mashable, marking the start of the giving season and opening up new options for cyber shopping. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are about consumerism and excess—shopping for new electronic toys and clothes to replace last year’s toys and clothes. Giving Tuesday is founded on the idea that the holiday season should be more than a shopping frenzy.

Heifer International offers gifts of livestock and training that create lasting change for entire communities. The gift of a flock of ducks, a sheep or a cow can provide products like eggs, wool, manure and draft power, enabling rural families to raise themselves out of poverty for good. The extra income generated can be used for school, medicine or other household needs, and families agree to Pass on the Gift of their animal’s first offspring to another needy family.

This season, rather than pouring money into new purchases that will languish in a closet, Americans can open their wallets on Giving Tuesday instead. Our buying power has the potential to effect serious change in the world, and alleviate problems that right now are costing people their lives. Heifer International believes that you shouldn’t have to choose between giving a fun holiday gift and making a bigger difference in the world.

When you choose to donate to charity and give a Heifer International gift for the holidays, your loved one will receive a beautiful honor card describing the animal gift and its impact on the family that receives it. So forgo the "new and improved" gadget and give presents that change lives instead of changing hands, and will never end up in the returns pile. Visit www.heifer.org/catalog to view The Most Important Gift Catalog In The World, or call 855.9HUNGER (855.948.6437.

About Heifer International:
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 40 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit www.heifer.org or call 855.9HUNGER (855.948.6437