(Good Deeds Day/Republican Volunteer Center)
Now in its 12th year, Good Deeds Day is a global movement of people doing good. The concept is really simple. For one day a year, millions of people volunteer to help others, putting into practice the idea that every person can do something good and help create positive change in the world. This year, Good Deeds Day falls on April 7.
Good Deeds Day is the brainchild of businesswoman and philanthropist Shari Arison. It was launched in 2007 in Israel and was organized by Ruach Tova ( Hebrew for Good Spirit), which is a part of the Ted Arison Family Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Arison Group.
“I believe that if people will think good, speak good and do good, the circles of goodness will grow in the world," said Shari Arison. "Good Deeds Day has become the leading day of giving and this year individuals, school children, students, soldiers and employees from many businesses are joining in for the annual Good Deeds Day with the aim of doing a good deed for others."
In 2007 there were 7,000 participants, and when it went global in 2011, ten international cities (many in the US) participated. After that, Good Deeds Day just took off. In 2012, European countries participated for the first time and Good Deeds Day teamed with MTV Global for a six-week campaign online and on TV that spread the positive change message to over 24 million viewers worldwide.
Good Deeds Day just kept growing bigger and better every year. In 2018, 3,500 people from 100 countries participated and logged over seven million hours of volunteerism. The Good Deeds Day website is now available in 11 languages. Let’s make 2019 even bigger and better.
All you need to do to participate is pick a project like cleaning up and beautifying a playground, planting a community garden, a pro bono skill exchange, organizing a pet adoption day, or running a blood drive. You can also take a look at one of the fantastic projects from 2018 to get ideas and tweak one to make it yours.
After you pick a project, make sure you register it. Pre-registration is open in Asia now. If you are anywhere else in the world, registration opens on January 21, 2019. You can register as an individual, as a group, or as a company or organization.
Volunteering was never this easy and fun.
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Goodnet was initiated by Shari Arison and is operated by The Ted Arison Family Foundation. Shari Arison is also the initiator of Good Deeds Day.
