Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated globally to the act of providing for others who are in need.

Someone on social media commented, “Why do we need a Giving Tuesday? We should all be giving every day.”

It’s a point that’s well-taken. The act of giving should be a daily occurrence. And I’m one of those people who thinks that for the most part, it is. After all, how would we have made it this far if a vast majority of us weren’t offering up what we have for others on a daily basis?

Encouragement, a helping hand, money … there’s a million different ways to give, and it happens much more than we realize.

On the other hand, what’s wrong with having a day dedicated to celebrating that action? Absolutely nothing.

Yesterday, Franklin Homestead & Carriage House started an end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, with the goal of raising $15,000 to cover a shortfall associated with COVID-19 and insurance costs that skyrocketed beyond what we were anticipating.

A day into it, we’ve raised $325. That’s incredibly encouraging.

Technically, we need to raise $468.75 over 32 days to hit our goal. We missed our first day by less than $150. That’s a strong start. We have a little ground to make up, but we will. I’m sure of it.

Of the donations I’ve received, half are from here in Vermont and half are from out of state. As far as I can tell, only one quarter of the donations so far are from someone with more than a passing familiarity with Franklin Homestead & Carriage House. That, too, is encouraging.

It’s encouraging because it demonstrates locally one of the big ideas behind Giving Tuesday: we’re all in this together.

Franklin Homestead & Carriage House provides safe, affordable, convenient housing for people age 55 and up. The people who make their homes there are a combination of diehard locals, lifelong Vermonters, and folks from away. And that description exactly fits the description of the donors who have stepped up so far.

Tomorrow is a complete unknown. It’s scary times, for sure. But we are in this together. And that makes whatever is beyond the horizon easier to face.

We hope you choose to support our fundraising campaign as you celebrate Giving Tuesday.

On behalf of the residents and staff here, thank you to those who have already given, and thanks in advance to those who are about to. We literally couldn’t do this without you.

To donate to Franklin Homestead & Carriage House’s fundraising campaign, visit https://www.fhich.org/donate or send a check to Franklin Homestead, Inc., at 142 Homestead Drive, Franklin, VT 05457.