Each year, communities around the country rally to help build up the non-profit organizations, groups and ministries that do so much in local neighborhoods, schools and churches. This effort is known as Giving Tuesday.
This year, Giving Tuesday takes on a new urgency, as the coronavirus pandemic has created immense—and immediate—need.
Tomorrow, Youth For Christ USA (YFC) will be involved in this nationwide call to action by hosting three Facebook Live sessions throughout the day. The May 5 observation, called “Giving Tuesday Now,” is a new global day of giving “as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.”
“Over the past several weeks, we have been witness to amazing stories happening in communities around the country,” said Youth For Christ President Dan Wolgemuth, who will close two of the three online sessions. “From feeding families to creating outlets through art, staff and volunteers across our chapters have truly served as the hands and feet of Jesus. We can’t wait to tell these stories on ‘Giving Tuesday Now.’ There has never been a more important time to reach youth with the message of Jesus, and now more than ever, as the world deals with unprecedented situations and circumstances, youth in America and around the world need Christ in a very real way.”
Youth For Christ’s three Facebook Live sessions via Zoom of approximately 30 minutes each are set for 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. MST on “Giving Tuesday Now,” May 5. YFC leaders from New York City, Denver, Detroit, Miami, western Michigan and more will share their stories of impact as COVID-19 has affected families, neighborhoods and entire communities.
An important goal will be to inspire viewers to, in turn, share the YFC stories in their own circles using the hashtags #GivingTuesdayNow and #YFCBeTheStory to help spread the word across the nation about how YFC chapters are making a difference in their communities.
Recent YFC stories of community impact include the following:
CLEVELAND: Over several weeks since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Greater Cleveland Youth For Christ City Life Center (CLC) has distributed hundreds of dinners each week to Cleveland youth and their families. City Life Director Jonny Fine and his team have been working with churches and restaurants to make the much-needed meals possible. During the first week of the initiative, CLC distributed about 250 meals, but the number climbed to over 1,000 weekly meals.
NEW YORK CITY: YFC NYC leader Daniel Sanabria and his team have started the “Inside Out” project, a way for youth in area facilities to have a creative outlet after in-person, one-on-one mentoring with YFC volunteers was forced to stop due to shelter-in-place orders. Through the project, youth “inside” the facilities are creating posters that will eventually find their way “out” into the city. YFC NYC also recently fed the staff of one facility a hot meal, and plans are in the works to reach out to others.
CENTRAL INDIANA: When Danny Marquez and his YFC team began hearing that students were having difficulty finding transportation to their schools to pick up provided meals after classes were cancelled, they stepped in. In some cases, Marquez, staff and volunteers picked up and delivered the meals for these students and their families. For others, Marquez’ mother-in-law, Teresa, made homemade pasta dishes, while also working with individual donors and community centers. Read more at IndyStar.com.
According to the “Giving Tuesday Now” website: “We believe that generosity has the power to unite and heal communities in good times and bad. A global threat like COVID-19 touches every person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a global community. … Let’s come together to create a wave of generosity, citizen engagement, action from business and philanthropy, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world.” The special May 5 observation is in addition to Giving Tuesday set for Dec. 1, 2020.
