United Way looks for Giving Tuesday donations to help students in need

Today is Giving Tuesday, a break from consumer spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with the hopes that people will donate to non-profit groups of their choice.

Magen Pillar with the United Way of Bartholomew County explains.

Pillar said that the United Way is focusing this Giving Tuesday on an initiative through Bartholomew Consolidated Schools to help children in need. The initiative through the school system’s Counseling Counts program is called the Student Support Line.

School counselors who identify that a student has a basic need that is not being met can contact the helpline to provide assistance to the child. Recent requests to the helpline have included a ramp needed at a home for a disabled student, essential medications and an alarm clock, Pillar said.

Pillar also encouraged you to donate to any of the agencies under the United Way umbrella in Bartholomew County.

Last year, Americans donated more than $3 billion to nonprofits on Giving Tuesday. That was 15 percent more than 2021 and 25 percent more than in 2020. Giving Tuesday launched in 2012 as a global movement to make giving a more central part of daily life.

You can find more information on the United Way, its local non-profit agencies and how to donate at https://www.uwbarthco.org