If you’re like me, any time one of your friends or aunts uses a hashtag in a Facebook or Twitter post, you might scratch your head in bewilderment. How does a pound sign before a catch phrase or acronym benefit anybody?
Well, there is one hashtag in particular that’s used once a year, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, that makes a direct impact in communities around the country—#GivingTuesday.
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving on November 29th, fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. It’s a day for supporters of organizations to spread awareness and raise money for good causes.
And it’s not just the cool thing to do that day that will get you loads of likes and boost your dopamine levels; it actually does create impactful and longstanding change!
Skeptical? In 2014, National Braille Press supporters kick-started fundraising for the Great Expectations: Bringing Picture Books to Life for Blind Kids program. It was through your posts and your donations, many just $10 or $25, on #GivingTuesday that we raised over $11,000 for this program!
The five books in the Great Expectations series so far
NBP’s #GivingTuesday movement produced the second selection for Great Expectations, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Dewalt. It’s a tale about a cohort of disgruntled crayons who want more from life. The green crayon is fed up with being associated with trees, while the gray crayon has grown disillusioned with shading illustrations of hippopotamuses.
The book was accompanied by a print/braille coloring kit and tactile coloring pages for blind and visually impaired kids to encourage creativity and learning about color. The Great Expectations website also offered a whole host of fun and educational activities to talk about the context and significance of color in correlation with the book. This was made possible by YOU!
#GivingTuesday participants spoke to NBP staff about how excited they were to help this program take flight, and how the mission of Great Expectations inspired them to contribute even a small amount. They spread the word by sharing how National Braille Press has benefited and inspired them with the hashtag #GivingTuesday.
NBP continued to build on your enthusiasm and support and the success of that selection with the publication of more books in our Great Expectations series: Amazing Grace; Iggy Peck, Architect; and Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes. This is the power of #GivingTuesday: 1,492 Great Expectations books distributed to families across the country. That’s 1,492 holistic and fun educational experiences for blind children to learn about color, architecture, acting and improvisation, and so much more.
It’s easy to become disillusioned by the chaos of social media—there can be too much information to consume and far too many Netflix cliffhangers to rant about. However, social media offers a platform for many voices to create change in our own small way—building a steady flow of social consciousness, one newsfeed at a time. So why not make it about NBP?
On Tuesday, November 29th, take the leap and post using #GivingTuesday to talk about what braille literacy means to you and your community, and make a contribution of $5, $25, or even $100.
This year, we’re advocating for our imperative Readbooks! Because Braille Matters program, a FREE program that supports families of blind children in the beginning of their braille education.
Let’s be inspired by our success in 2014 and realize that we can be game changers for braille literacy… all with a pound sign. Don’t miss out!
—Elizabeth Kent, Events and Volunteers Manager