After the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping holidays, Giving Tuesday asks us to give back and do good, all while engaging in what the official GivingTuesday website calls “radical generosity” in our everyday lives.
Founded in 2012 as a collaboration between New York City’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, Giving Tuesday began as a way to encourage a “day that encourages people to do good,” according to the website, but has since become its own nonprofit — and a nationwide movement.
It is in honour of good deeds that some of Prague’s monuments will light up today after dark.
In addition to the traditional lighting of the Petrin Lookout Tower, the people of Prague will see a giant heart in the National Theatre building from five o’clock in the afternoon.
Anyone can join on the most generous day of the year, and anyone and almost anything can join Giving Tuesday.
In the Czech Republic, Giving Tuesday has been initiated by the Association of Social Responsibility for six years now.
Those interested can be inspired by the initiative’s website, where they will find over two hundred challenges.
Those interested can support, for example, children with cancer, single seniors, or the construction of a shelter for handicapped animals.
You can also contribute to the wedding of a mentally ill couple or to the planting of trees in Africa.
“The fact that Czechs as a nation have nothing to be ashamed of is also proved by the fact that helping others is important for nine out of ten people, and this number is increasing from year to year, “says Lucie Mádlová, founder and executive director of the Association of Social Responsibility.
“According to a survey by the Ipsos agency, 83 percent of Czechs have joined the charity in the last year.
“I am extremely proud that the Czech heart is so big and all-embracing that even in this difficult time it can empathize with others and stand by them when needed.”
