Happy Valentine's Day? How about Happy Generosity Day instead!!

[OneGrassRoot]

Many of us here are jaded about holidays, with the commercialization of nearly EVERYTHING.

I just learned about Generosity Day, and have inserted the contents of a blog post I just created for it below. I think this is GD worthy for the day. I am NOT a Wall Street person and tend to cringe when anything seemingly "good" is generated from within those ranks. However, I'm also trying to have an open mind, embracing the positives where they manifest.



First, here is a video e-card for you guys....sending wishes & hugs your way:

Are you concerned about the extreme commercialization of holidays, including Valentine's Day? Rather than stress over the perfect card or the perfect gift or the perfection expression of your love for someone, consider DOING generosity.

About a year ago, Sasha Dichter, Acumen Fund’s Chief Innovation Officer, decided to spend the month of December saying “yes” to everyone who asked him for money – a homeless person, a street musician, a nonprofit. Prior to this, his gut response was to say “no.” He said that this was keeping him from being the open, generous person that he wanted to be.

Sasha then got together with with Katya Andreson of Network for Good, Scott Case of Malaria No More, and Ellen McGirt of Fast Company to reboot Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day.

As Sasha said, it's "...one day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying Yes.”

Here are a few ideas to help you celebrate Generosity Day each February 14th, starting today. It is very much in keeping with the Spirit of Wishadoo! in that it is NOT always about helping and being generous with money. We can be generous with our time, with our praise, with our compassion, with simple acts of kindness and love.

You can say YES without being asked.

* Hold the door open for someone; say thank you when someone does a kindness for you

* Give money to that street musician whose music makes you smile

* Leave a generous tip, especially where it's most unexpected

* Make a promise to to help someone do something that you are good at

* Introduce yourself to someone you see every day but have never said hello to

* Make a donation to your favorite charity of the day

* Give someone an unexpected compliment

* Say yes by being generous with your smiles!!!

* Please consider donating to Wishadoo!'s Fundraiser! (shameless plug for Wishadoo! )


Please visit Sasha's blog post where more suggestions are offered to help spread the word about Generosity Day! "The goal is to spend Valentine’s Day being more generous, giving more money, sharing of yourself, being of service. All acts of generosity, small and big alike, count. But you have to say YES to everything that’s asked of you, all day long! It’s about creating more generosity in the world, and becoming a more open person along the way."

Wishadoo! is offering a special e-card (shown above) to celebrate this first Happy Generosity Day. When you are logged in to Wishadoo, CLICK HERE to be taken to the card to spread the word and say YES! to Generosity Day!

[kentauros]

1. Big K&R from me!

I love the idea of this. And I see Sasha is another TED participant, too

[Zalatix]

2. Awesome idea!!! K&R!!