Doing good on Giving Tuesday
29 November 2022
DOING GOOD ON GIVING TUESDAY
Giving Tuesday is a global movement inspiring millions of people to volunteer, share skills and support a good cause. Born Free’s Executive President Will Travers OBE reports.
(c) www.georgelogan.co.uk
I know that many people give to the causes they care about throughout the year. To the elderly, the young, the infirm, the destitute. Many also give to organisations trying to protect and heal our fragile planet. Others pledge their help to animals in need – including our wonderful Born Free supporters!
Executive President Will Travers OBE
But after the discounts, special bargains and mega-deals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday – when many of us have helped ourselves – it’s a good time to give back.
Today is Giving Tuesday, a global phenomenon which, in 2021, raised more than $2.7 billion in the US alone, for those in need. Giving Tuesday started in the UK in 2014 and each year its impact has grown. In fact, around the world, people in over 80 countries now take part. Born Free is an official Giving Tuesday partner and we pledge, on Giving Tuesday, to do something special for the animals we care about – those living in the wild and those in our rescue centres.
I know that our teams around the world, in Africa, India, Sri Lanka, America – wherever they are – will be working extra hard, spreading the word, protecting threatened wildlife, giving our rescued animals the lifetime of love and care they need and deserve. And that’s where you and I come in.
This Giving Tuesday please spread the word. We are a more connected world than ever before. Born Free has hundreds of thousands of faithful followers and friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now Tiktok. I am honoured to be followed by over 53,000 followers on Twitter alone. Each of those people has their own community of friends and if, through you, we can reach out to the millions of people we are already connected with, imagine the difference we could make.
“So, use your power as a compassionate individual and reach out to everyone you know, inviting them to friend, follow or even join Born Free – it only takes a few minutes and it’s what Giving Tuesday is all about – giving hope.”
So, use your power as a compassionate individual and reach out to everyone you know, inviting them to friend, follow or even join Born Free – it only takes a few minutes and it’s what Giving Tuesday is all about – giving hope.
There is a dedicated team that works for Born Free – over 100 people worldwide who dedicate their lives to making the world a better place, one animal at a time. They rarely enter the spotlight but never doubt that they are there, working relentlessly for wildlife in need. They are my unsung heroes. If you would like to send them your support and encouragement, send a short message to [email protected] and I will ensure it is shared with the team. I know how much this will mean to them all.
There are two words we don’t use often enough. They capture everything we mean to say but sometimes forget. Those two words are thank you.
On Giving Tuesday, my mother Virginia and I both want to personally say thank you to everyone who, in their busy lives, takes a few moments to think of others less fortunate, the oppressed, the lost, the lonely and the forgotten. To echo the words of my late father, Bill: “It’s not that I am more interested in animals than people, I am just interested in life.”