A few Giving Tuesday ideas

December and Advent begin on the same day this year. A couple of days later comes December 3, Giving Tuesday, when nonprofit organizations try to elevate their profiles a bit in the wake of the heavy-duty commerce of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Hands extending a wrapped gift box
Photo by Porapak Apichodilok on Pexels.com

You’re probably getting messages from your favorite nonprofit organizations about Giving Tuesday. Please, look up the websites or social media posts of those organizations to find out how you can help.

Many organizations have donors who will provide matching funds for Giving Tuesday donations, thus doubling or tripling the value of your donation. Can’t beat that!

Need some ideas? 

  • Check out my list of pregnancy support resources in New Hampshire. 
  • As a hiker who loves New Hampshire trails, I can also recommend that you find your nearest trail-maintenance or “Friends-of” organization to help keep your area’s recreational trails in good shape for everyone. 
  • And let me add a pitch for Meals on Wheels of Hillsborough County, NH, which has had a special place in my heart since I worked there briefly some time ago. In my little county, more than a thousand people depend on MOW services. A little support can go a long way.

You can find the rest of this post (and subscribe for free!) on my Substack, Braided Trails.

Remembering Rita Marker

I’ve relied on a lot of people over the years to help me understand the different dimensions of being pro-life. Rita Marker, founder of the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force (later known as the Patients Rights Council), long ago introduced me to the public policy side of end-of-life issues. She was a titan in defense of the dignity of life. She recently died, and I’ll honor her memory.

Head to my latest Substack post to read more about her, her invaluable book Deadly Compassion, and how she will affect my vote on November 5. Hint: it’s all about a down-ballot race.

My thanks to readers who have subscribed to Braided Trails, my Substack newsletter. You are pioneers!

If you haven’t subscribed yet – and it’s free, with an option to donate if you’re so inclined – I invite you to see what I’m up to on that platform (“So What’s a Braided Trail?” puts it in a nutshell). Let’s build a Substack community unlike any other, where faith, life, and New Hampshire’s great outdoors come together.

Down-ballot races are the best reason to vote in November

The presidential race is not what will have me running to the polls on November 5. Neither presidential candidate has earned my vote. On the other hand, the lower-tier races will have a much greater impact on life-issue policies.

image: pexels.com

I make the case for down-ballot races in my latest Substack post, on the newsletter I call Braided Trails. Also featured: a tribute to St. Teresa of Avila on her feast day, and a brief note about finishing my walk on the 80-mile Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail.

The Braided Trails newsletter lets me braid together faith, pro-life work, and hiking into one short digest that aims to inform and inspire you. I hope you’ll subscribe – it’s free. Look for the “subscribe” button included in each post.