A MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER
“Giving Tuesday: When Even Your Toaster Might Ask You for a Donation”
Bobby R. Henry, Sr. and the R stands for; I just got ROBBED
Welcome to Giving Tuesday, that special time of year when every organization, every acquaintance, and possibly even your old high school gym teacher pops out of retirement to remind you that your wallet hasn’t suffered enough.
I opened my phone this morning and was greeted by a digital avalanche:
62 emails, 19 texts, 14 Instagram DMs, four TikToks, and one push notification from an app I thought I deleted.
All of them shouting the same thing: “GIVE NOW!” “GIVE TODAY!” “GIVE BEFORE WE SEND ANOTHER EMAIL!”
At this point, I’m convinced that if I breathe too close to my microwave, it, too, will light up and say, “Hey friend, for just $5 a month, you can help heat leftovers around the world…”
And these causes? Lord have mercy.
There are more causes than letters in the Khmer (Cambodian) alphabet, which fun fact has so many letters it looks like someone nodded out on a keyboard and decided to call it a language. Meanwhile, every organization insists that THEIRS is the only cause standing between civilization and total chaos.
But here’s what nobody says out loud: What if YOU need someone to give to YOU today?
What if your checking account is sitting there skinnier than the stick people we drew as kids, whispering, “Help… I’m malnourished.”
Yet the guilt is real.
The motto of the month is: “It is more blessed to give than to receive…” which is a beautiful sentiment until your credit card starts shaking like it saw a ghost shouting guess what’s not in my wallet!
And then comes the seasonal pressure: Nobody wants to be called Scrooge, counting nickels like their sacred relics.
Nobody wants to be the Grinch, up on the mountain eating cold cereal while the whole town sings holiday jingles in perfect harmony.
So, what are we supposed to do?
– Fake a Wi-Fi outage until January?
– Tell our inbox, “New phone, who dis?”
– Send out our own Giving Tuesday campaign titled,
“Support ME: I’m tired, broke, and emotionally unavailable”?
But let’s keep it real: Giving Tuesday has turned into a Hunger Games for your bank account.
Only the financially fittest survive.
Yet maybe, just maybe the real giving we need today isn’t money at all.
Maybe it’s giving— we, us, you, and me permission to say:
“Not today, people. My generosity is currently on backorder. I’m broke, busted and at this point I can’t be trusted!
And if anyone accuses you of being stingy?
Just give them that great big oh smile and say: “I’m not Scrooge—I’m just practicing responsible financial hibernation.”
Happy Giving Tuesday. May your inbox be quiet, your wallet at peace, and your microwave mercifully silent.
And remember give responsibility.
