Celebrate #GivingTuesday by Teaching About Giving

I love #GivingTuesday.

I know, I’ve said that before…and you’ve caught me in the act again. Guilty. But I also know it’s a movement that just makes me happy, a charge to expand goodness in the world, so if I’m going to love something, it’s a perfect choice. As a mom, I’m also pretty attached to my two boys, and I’ve plowed a lot of time and effort into exposing them to philanthropy.

I want them to understand that every single person on this planet can and should play a positive role in its future—that it’s up to us to act, to invest, to serve.

You can imagine how pleased I was when I was introduced to an organization that combined my two loves, #GivingTuesday and teaching kids about giving. That organization is Learning to Give, a nonprofit that works, through K-12 teachers, to “spark students to learn and act for good” by providing more than 1,700 lesson plans designed to both inspire and equip students to use their hearts and minds to impact the world. The teachers are the real heroes here (as they often are), the inspirational inflection points that take this well-thought-out, well crafted curriculum to the kids who gather in their classrooms.

This year on #GivingTuesday, Learning to Give is asking teachers to join the international movement to celebrate an opening day to the giving season by doing what they do best, by teaching.

Learning to Give believes that a key way to change the world is to broaden the number of people learning about philanthropy, civil society and giving time, talent and treasure. They do this by educating kids, giving them the knowledge to engage, and then encouraging action. The formula is Knowledge+Skills+Behavior, and it’s already working with two million teachers who leverage the program today.

Learning to Give is seeking to reach 300,000 students through 10,000 teachers using lesson plans designed just for the day. 

They’re calling this initiative TeachOne, and the call to action is for teachers in classrooms across the country to teach one lesson on giving on #GivingTuesday. Learning to Give provides the communication tools and the lesson plans and will be standing ready to use its social media reach to share the stories that result.  And after #GivingTuesday, the rich online content lives on as a resource for those inclined to keep the conversations with their students going.

Each lesson includes:

• A set duration (how many class periods and how much time for each class)
• Stated learning objectives
• Materials scope specifically for the lesson
• A bibliography
• Step-by-step instructions

So if you’re a teacher, you know a teacher or you’re an interested parent seeking to help teach about giving, this free resource is for you.  Perhaps you can encourage someone to join TeachOne for #GivingTuesday, or maybe you can join in yourself.  Although this resource is for teachers—in both public and private/independent K-12 school setting—it is rich in material and inspiring for all of us who spend a part of our lives bringing kids along and helping them engage in the world of giving.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Hutchisson

Rachel Hutchisson is the vice president of corporate citizenship and philanthropy at Blackbaud, headquartered in Charleston, SC.  She is responsible for the company’s global corporate citizenship efforts, a role that allows her to leverage her 20+ years of experience of working with nonprofit partners.  She is a member of the board of directors for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International, the Giving Institute (producers of Giving USA), and the Coastal Community Foundation.  She is also a Past President of the AFP SC Lowcountry chapter. Rachel is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and received a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.  A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she is a Renaissance Weekend participant and was the recipient of the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Influential Women in Business Rising Star Award.  Rachel is an avid soccer fan and spends far too much time driving to remote parts of the state to watch her children play.  Connect with Rachel on Twitter at @RachelHutchssn or on LinkedIn.