In the space of a long Thanksgiving weekend, we've pushed away from overfilled tables, dashed out to swarm through Black Friday sales with thousands of like-minded shoppers, watched football until our eyes swelled shut, then surfed the gazillion Cyber Monday come-ons.
Now it's time to give back. Now it's Giving Tuesday.
Giving Tuesday, 10 years old today, was created as a day of heightened generosity when folks like us are encouraged to give to our favorite charities. According to CNN, the Giving Tuesday movement has spread to more than 85 countries, with about $2.7 billion donated in the U.S. alone on Giving Tuesday 2021.
Your email boxes are probably stuffed with reminders and requests from groups like the World Wildlife Fund, Wounded Warriors and the like. But here in Chattanooga, we have as big or bigger needs to fill.
You may recall that 700 people, including 170 children, were made homeless in mid-November when the East Ridge Police and Hamilton County district attorney, armed with a court order alleging crime and nuisance, closed the Budgetel on Mack Smith Road.
Those 700 people joined the ranks of the about 1,000 people who already are homeless in the Chattanooga region on any given night.
It's not because these folks are penniless panhandlers. The 700 people at the Budgetel were paying at least $200 -- some told Times Free Press reporters $277 -- a week. They were paying that to stay in a hotel because there is no supply of affordable housing where electricity, heat, air and water are available in one bundled package.
In some cases, this was the only available place to rent for someone who has a bankruptcy or a foreclosure, an uneven employment history, a criminal record, personal or family instability -- enough to give give some landlords pause about renting to them.
So on this Giving Tuesday, we hope you'll give to the agencies and organizations in the Chattanooga community that help when the unexpected happens -- even the unnecessary unexpecteds like this one.
Here's our list:
› CHATT Foundation — not to be confused with the Community Foundation. The CHATT Foundation is the new name of the 40-year-old Chattanooga Community Kitchen, which year after year has fed thousands of homeless people and folks who were just down on their luck -- be it for a few days or for weeks or months. Over the years, they added other services such as clothing, counseling, job training, employment help -- even mats on the floor to sleep inside the Kitchen at 727 E. 11th St., during weather extremes.
Go to chattfoundation.org to learn more and to give.
› Chattanooga Area Food Bank — You cannot get any more straightforward than this critical nonprofit that works with 250 community partners to address food insecurity -- a year-round challenge. The agency serves a 20-county service area, encompassing Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia.
Food Bank officials estimate as many as 161,770 people in this area face hunger on any given day. Here's the kicker -- your $1 donation -- a dollar! -- helps provide three meals.
Check out Chattfoodbank.org for more information.
› Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition — Since 1995, the coalition has been serving 11 counties of Southeast Tennessee as the leader in maximizing resources for people living in conditions not meant for human habitation.
And the coalition has a hotel fund you can give to that sends 100% of donations to help individuals and families gain emergency access to a hotel.
To learn how to help, go to www.homelesscoalition.org.
› Chattanooga Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund — Started more than 100 years ago by Adolph Ochs, then the publisher of the Chattanooga Times, the Neediest Cases fund accepts donations from newspaper readers between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. The money, administered and distributed by the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, goes to individuals and families in need.
Times Free Press writer Bob Gary reported last week that in 2021, readers contributed $81,000 to the Neediest Cases Fund. In turn, about 80 adults and 61 children in 54 households got the help they needed to stabilize their situations and avert potentially devastating consequences.
To learn more or to make a donation this year, go to timesfreepress.com/neediest cases.