It's the non-profit community's answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Supporters say Giving Tuesday offers an option to those who want to share the spirit of the season with those who can benefit most.
"Giving Tuesday is in its fourth year," said Christian Hoffman, Communications and Development Manager for Community Missions.
"It started actually in New York City. Now, it's grown into an international movement asking people to really focus in on whatever causes really mean something to them and just asking them to take a day during the holiday season to give back to whatever causes...resonate with them."
According to Hoffman, many non-profits have set up on-line avenues to provide a convenient opportunity for those who want to take part in Giving Tuesday. That hasn't worked so well for Community Missions. Instead, the group has teamed with six area restaurants who have pledged to donate a portion of their Tuesday proceeds to the agency.
A list of the participating restaurants can be found by clicking here.
The funds will help as Community Missions deals with the changing needs of those they serve.
"The biggest need we've seen is a large increase in food. Our nights in shelter have gone down about 10 percent or so over the past 12 months. But we've seen a spark increase about 30 percent or so needing more food," Hoffman said.
"That specifically has been in our food pantry. Of course, we do serve lunch to the public. We serve three meals a day to anyone that is staying within the shelter. And then we give away large amounts of food thanks to the Food Bank of Western New York and other organizations, but really just a huge increase in our food pantry numbers."
