Giving Tuesday is a worldwide movement that occurs the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, during which people across the globe do good for their community. The event also kicks off the year-end giving season for the nonprofit industry. Therefore, the event can’t come at a better time, as the holiday season represents a heightened love and appreciation for our family, friends, and community. Whether you donate to a clothing drive or volunteer at a soup kitchen, you can enjoy the benefits of giving and use Givhero—a wellness platform for employers—to facilitate your year-end gratitude campaign.
Below, we discuss the wellness of giving and the benefits of year-end gratitude campaigns:
The Wellness of Giving
Donating time and money benefits both givers as well as recipients. Think about it: you don't need a doctor to tell you giving feels good. Researchers found that warm, “fuzzy” feelings correlate with activation of the mesolimbic system—the part of the brain that regulates feelings of pleasure and reward. Often, this activation is associated with immediate satisfaction, like food and drugs. However, acts of giving also activate these feelings of contentment.
Moreover, studies show that giving can tangibly boost your health. The potential physical and mental health benefits associated with giving include:
- Lower blood pressure
- Decreased stress levels
- Fewer feelings of depression
- Longer life
- Boosted self-esteem
- More happiness, gratitude, and satisfaction
Year-end Gratitude Campaigns
Whether you provide loved ones emotional support or run a 5k for charity, giving can benefit everyone. Your office might even conduct a gratitude campaign to facilitate charitable acts on a larger scale. Such initiatives can take many forms, depending on the chosen activity and the cause you wish to support. Your organization might try one of the following ideas:
- Run a food, clothing, or gift drive: non-perishable goods, unused clothing, and gifts for children can make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate, especially as the weather gets colder. This kind of campaign is relatively easy to implement and offers a great way to give back during the holidays.
- Support a blood drive: hospitals and their patients always need healthy, compatible blood for transfusions. So, direct your organization’s employees to nearby locations for a blood drive. There aren’t many more worthy causes than giving the gift of life to those in need.
- Promote a kindness campaign: encourage your employees or stakeholders to practice small acts of kindness and gratitude throughout their daily lives. Doing so might entail opening the door for a stranger, complimenting a colleague, paying for someone else’s meal, and more. Such kindness provides all the same benefits that structured initiatives offer, despite their apparent unimportance.
Encourage your employees and other stakeholders to take part in organized acts of generosity on Giving Tuesday. Management could even offer this day off from work for those who participate.
How Givhero Is Impacting Wellness
Facilitating a gratitude campaign may be easier said than done. These programs require some logistical considerations; for instance, how do you encourage employees across your organization to cooperate? How do you keep track of everyone’s progress and total impact? Enter the Givhero app. Our platform provides a structure for corporate wellness campaigns, connecting built-in challenges, leaderboards, reports, and more to a pool of over 2 million charities to which you can contribute. Participants’ activities drive charitable giving efforts, and they can watch their work produce tangible results. By effectively wielding intrinsic motivation—in this case, the warm feeling of giving—Givhero boosts employee engagement and powers your gratitude campaign.
Your charitable efforts need not stop after year-end gratitude campaigns. As we approach Heart Health Month in February, consider how Givhero can help you facilitate a wellness program that donates to the American Heart Association.
Givhero: a Workplace Wellness Platform Built for Giving
A wellness platform company that makes running a gratitude campaign easy, Givhero can work for all aspects of your wellness campaigns, from charity challenges to mental wellness programs. Whatever your activity or cause may be, a successful wellness initiative is just a download away with the Givhero app. For more information, contact us online or at (240) 801-5927.
