As part of our core purpose to better the lives of others, we set aside a portion of our net income to charities we support. We talked about the campaign match we did for Habitat for Humanity. Tomorrow, December 2nd, is #GivingTuesday, an national day of giving. While any of these organizations would be great to support. we’re making a donation to Stone Soup Group. Read on about their mission, more about #GivingTuesday and what Stone Soup plans on doing with this money for the Anchorage community.
#GivingTuesday is a nationwide campaign designed to promote giving during the holiday season. For one day, non-profits solicit donations in the wake of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” as an alternative to the traditional shopping craze.
The goal for single-day campaigns like this is to allow groups like Stone Soup Group to quickly raise funds with minimal expenses so more of their time and resources can go directly to families. Funds raised from this campaign will support activities and services currently not fully funded at Stone Soup Group, including Wii Club and Teen Friendships & Dating. Both of these programs build social skills for youth with special needs, such as autism or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Participating in these activities not only promotes healthy child development for a vulnerable population, but also helps reduce triggers and risky behaviors in other aspects of life. These activities and other successful projects were created after listening to the stories of families and working to fill gaps that existed within our community for youth with special needs.
Last year Stone Soup Group served over 1000 families caring for children with special needs in 62 communities throughout Alaska. They did this by providing activities, resources, information and training to help parents understand the numerous systems required to get their children assistance when they need it most. When a family receives this kind of assistance they are better able to manage day to day life and support their child no matter where they are in their journey.
By providing a donation to Stone Soup Group and joining the national #GivingTuesday campaign, you will be supporting Alaska’s youth with special needs and their families while encouraging individual giving. Individual giving is an essential part of sustainability for Stone Soup Group and other non-profits throughout the state. We hope you will join us this year as we raise funds to support families in Alaska.
Read more about StoneSoup group and their goals and how they contribute to the community in Anchorage at http://www.stonesoupgroup.org/ and we hope you join us in contributing on this #GivingTuesday.