Refuge & Hope International Joins the #GivingTuesday Movement to Encourage Giving with a Purpose

ALABASTER, Ala. - Nov. 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Kampala, Uganda and Alabaster, Alabama -- 26 November 2014 -- Refuge & Hope International has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort to harness the collective power of traditional and social media to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Taking place on December 2, 2014 -- the Tuesday after Thanksgiving -- #GivingTuesday is a growing movement dedicated to encourage people to give back during the holiday season. Like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday has become synonymous with the holiday season.

Refuge & Hope’s #UNLEASHED campaign -- an effort to raise funds to launch an accelerated high school diploma program for refugees in Kampala, Uganda -- is coordinating its efforts with #GivingTuesday, the Thanksgiving holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season to inspire people to remember to support those in need (in this case, refugees in Africa) as they begin shopping for the holidays.

“We have an ambitious year-end-fundraising goal of $35,000 USD to fund an accelerated high school diploma program for refugees who’s educations were interrupted by war, conflict or persecution,” said Jade Acker, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Refuge & Hope International. “Since we’re driving this campaign primarily through social media, we felt incorporating the increasingly popular #GivingTuesday movement into our campaign strategy made good sense.”

Seeing an opportunity to channel the generous spirit of the holiday season to inspire action around charitable giving, a group of friends and partners, led by the 92nd Street Y (92Y), came together to find ways to promote and celebrate the great American tradition of giving. Thought leaders in philanthropy, social media and grassroots organizing joined with 92Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector. The concept gained steam, and with the help of the United Nations Foundation and other founding partners, more than 10,000 organizations have joined the movement and are providing creative ways people can embrace #GivingTuesday and collaborate in their giving efforts to create more meaningful results.

“#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism,” said Kathy Calvin, CEO of the UN Foundation. “The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world.”

Those who are interested in joining Refuge and Hope’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit https://www.indiegogo.com/at/RefugeesUnleashed/x/8522242.

For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow #GivingTuesday (https://twitter.com/GivingTues) and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.

About Refuge & Hope International
Refuge and Hope International is a faith-based organization working with refugees in Kampala, Uganda by providing education, skills training and emotional and spiritual support so they can rebuild their lives, realize their potential and thrive in Uganda and beyond. To do this, Refuge and Hope offers English language classes as well as reading, writing, and other academic subjects to equip students for jobs or advanced education opportunities. Additionally, Refuge and Hope offers business and skills training courses to help students land jobs or start businesses that will enable them to earn a living wage, so they can support themselves and their families.  Refuge and Hope also provides counseling and individual or group support to those who have experienced or witnessed war-related trauma. Refuge and Hope is a registered 501c3 based out of Alabaster, Alabama, USA. To learn more about Refuge and Hope, please visit: Website: www.refugeandhope.org and Facebook: www.facebook.com/RefugeAndHope

About #GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give. It will culminate with a global day of giving on December 2, 2014. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners— charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a global moment that is dedicated to giving around the world.

To learn more about #GivingTuesday participants and activities or to join the celebration of giving, please visit: Website: www.givingtuesday.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday

Media Contact:
Sarah Lambie
Director of Communications,
Refuge & Hope International
+256 (0) 783 054 102
c (mailto:sarahlambie@yahoo.com)ommunications@refugeandhope.org