Cincinnati, Ohio, November 12, 2013 – Saint Ursula Academy has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners—charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season.
Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday #ChooseSUA will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the organizations, like Saint Ursula, that they support and help to create a better world.
Taking place Tuesday, December 3, 2013—the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national movement around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.
Saint Ursula faculty, staff and students will work to support this effort and inspire each other as part of this worldwide movement.
“Saint Ursula Academy is dedicated to educating women of faith, integrity and courage committed to building a better world, so our fit with this worldwide effort is natural,” said Lelia Kremer, President of Saint Ursula Academy. “It’s important for our students to learn the importance of giving back and supporting the organizations that are important to them and the communities they live in and serve.”
Saint Ursula’s goal for #GivingTuesday is to raise $20,000 in that single day to help support the students at Saint Ursula Academy. SUA is asking its community, donors and supporters to #ChooseSUA to receive their gift on that Tuesday.
The History of #GivingTuesday
Where did #GivingTuesday originate?
Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by the 92nd Street Y, came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92nd Street Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and by bringing together a group of founding partners—including the United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity:water, GlobalGiving, Iraq Unilever and VentureThreeCapital—a nationwide series of discussions about how to make #GivingTuesday a success is well underway. Each week, new organizations join the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.
“It’s been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday,” said Henry Timms, 92Y’s Interim Executive Director.
“This initiative has truly been crowd-sourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the next generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs.”
“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”
Those who are interested in joining Saint Ursula Academy’s #GivingTuesday #ChooseSUA initiative can visit www.saintursula.org/GivingTuesday.aspx.
To learn more about St. Ursula Academy or about #GivingTuesday #ChooseSUA, please visit www.saintursula.org.
St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. St. Ursula welcomes students from more than 70 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. In 2002 the Academy was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. 87% of the class of 2013 earned college scholarships totaling more than $20-million.
Photo Caption: Abby Weber of White Oak, Claudia Vollman of Western Hills, Elizabeth Shannon of Kenwood, Gracie Willett of Hyde Park, Maggie Juliani of Mt. Lookout, Grace de Jesus of Milford, and Arie Lewis of Hyde Park