Giving Tuesday: Bay Area non-profit highlights importance of every donation
TAMPA, Fla. - As non-profits call for generosity for Giving Tuesday, a Tampa-based non-profit shared what the season of giving means for the community they serve and how every kind of donation counts.
Stacey Spencer opens the door of possibilities with Tampa’s youth. She heads up Teen Tyme Productions, a local non-profit that’s been around for about 20 years, helping the Bay Area’s youth and teenagers form a strong sense of self.
"If somebody were to call today and say, ‘Hey, we want you to come out we have 50 kids, 75 kids we want you to do something on etiquette,’ we run [to the storage unit], we grab, we open [the crate] and double check that we’ve got all the materials," said Spencer, the founder of Teen Tyme, of her team’s routine ahead of events.
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Giving Tuesday is a time when non-profits like hers hope to receive donations.
"Seven years ago, we got a phone call, and that’s what started the Teen Tyme sparkle. A young mom who had three kids and was a single parent. She said, ‘hey, y’all help teenagers?’" said Spencer, who explained that the teen mom need a bed and other furniture.
Teen Tyme's partnerships made a difference during the holiday season, sparking the non-profit’s Teen Tyme Sparkle initiative.
"Never got to meet them, just heard their kids screaming in the background. They said, ‘We didn’t get the box spring out of the box before the kids were jumping on it.’ They were so happy not to be sleeping on a hardwood floor, and I think that that touched my heart," Spencer said.
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Giving Tuesday is a worldwide movement, and the latest Giving Tuesday Data Commons report found a drop in generosity in 2022. In the U.S., the number of donors and donations dropped for the first time since 2010 because of the economy, the report said.
"Since COVID, it has been a challenge for big and small nonprofits," said Spencer.
Some of those challenges include just having enough, so on Tuesday the hope is to bring more sparkle through the season and into next year.
"The contributions, whether it’s your time, talents and treasures, is what will help us the most," said Spencer.
Teen Tyme said they’re in need of a large car to help transport their donations and event crates, so they can keep rolling around the community to give seminars and events for kids and adults.
Giving Tuesday can mean giving with your time, money, items or even advocacy.