Giving Tuesday is a campaign to break the record for 24 Hour charitable giving. Before you think, “Well, La, Dee, Da…”, it is sort of a reaction to the crass consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (I would like to see us break the record for Voting Tuesday, which I just made up.) Also, I realize that both of these consumer days help budget conscious families to afford things that are normally out of reach. Anyways, what if you as a secular person are down with giving, but not down with supporting organizations that force the less fortunate to listen to proselytizing first?
What are some ways that you can be a secular Fred from a Christmas Carol?
But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that- as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
So in that secular spirit apart from the veneration of the sacred, you can donate to the Foundation Beyond Belief. It is a particularly good time to give to this charity run by the secular community. Every dollar to $20,000 will be matched, so every dollar you give until January 15 and they reach the limit will be doubled! Their campaign called #HumanistsCare is part of the Giving Tuesday challenge. Check them out at this link. Right now, they are at $2,957.oo. Not to be too hard on evangelical Christian charities,because I am glad that the less fortunate are being cared for. However, wouldn’t it be nice if they didn’t also spread harmful ideas like the Catholic Church discouraging condom use in Africa? On the other hand, with a secular vetted charity -if they promise help that is pretty much all that gets delivered.
*Edit to add: There are 2 other options to give to FBB this season. If you shop through Amazon, a portion of your purchase can be donated to FBB through their Amazon Smile program. Plus the good folks at Be Secular, are holding an auction this week with some amazing things such as vacations and autographed swag to bid on to benefit FBB. Mark Nebo of Be Secular says that the funds from the auction will be donated to #HumanistsCare, so that you get really great auction items, and your money is doubled until they reach their goal.
