CHICAGO (WLS) — Giving Tuesday is a global initiative dedicated to promoting generosity and philanthropy.

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First launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday was conceived as a day to encourage people worldwide to contribute in various ways—be it through donations, volunteering their time, or performing acts of kindness.

According to the organization behind this global movement, Americans contributed a staggering $3.6 billion on Giving Tuesday last year.

As 2025 approaches, both global and local communities, including Chicago, continue to face significant needs.

Sheila Cawley, the Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Chicago Community Trust, highlighted the organization’s mission. Founded over a century ago, the Trust focuses on uniting diverse groups to tackle the city’s most urgent challenges.

“The Trust was established to bring people from all walks of life together to address Chicago’s most pressing needs,” Cawley explained.

Decades later, there are people in need across the city. Cawley says those needs include food insecurity, housing and healthcare.

This year, the Trust has decided to focus primarily on food insecurity. Cawley says gifts can some in any size.

“Philanthropists can be $10 donors or million-dollar donors, it doesn’t matter. Philanthropy is about caring for other people; and what we encourage people to do is think about what values they have,” Cawley said.

Mitzi Baum is the Chief Executive Officer of Nourishing Hope, which helps people who need food, mental health services and more.

“We’ve seen a huge spike in the need for our services other the past few weeks with the suspension of SNAP benefits, and then the reinstatement. With the government shutdown, people not receiving paychecks and people that were sheltering in place due to the ICE activity in the city of Chicago. We’ve seen a huge surge in need,” Baum said.

However, food isn’t the only type of assistance Nourishing Hope provides.

“Many times, that brings people in and they learn about the other services that we provide: mental wellness services, with our licensed therapists. We also have case managers that can assist with accessing different types of benefits throughout our systems,” Baum said.

For more information, visit:

The Chicago Community Trust: cct.org

Nourishing Hope: nourishinghopechi.org