A Celebration of Generosity: STA Affiliates Reflect the Mission of Giving Tuesday

By Ryan Kwiatkowski, StoneX

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the holiday season has officially kicked into high gear. This time of year always brings forth a spirit of generosity and charity that inspires individuals and organizations to spread acts of kindness.

Working in financial services puts us in an obvious position to embrace philanthropy and give back to causes that matter. We have the means and the networks to throw our support behind initiatives that align with our values and make a real impact in our communities.

Today, Giving Tuesday – a global day of charitable giving that occurs annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – serves as a natural invitation to “find your cause,” promoting positive social change on a larger scale and fostering a sense of unity. One of the reasons we’re so supportive of the initiative is that our local STA affiliates live out its mission all year long, aligning #GrassrootsGiving efforts with the convictions of their members and the needs of their communities to produce powerful results.

Here are just a few examples from Q4:

• Dallas STA recently supported the Inaugural Dallas Golf Outing benefiting Catch A Lift, an organization that helps 9/11 combat-injured veterans to recover and rehabilitate physically and mentally through fitness, motivation and support.

• On December 4, IETA (Toronto) will support an ‘Out of the Cold’ Dinner Service, an emergency program that provides homeless persons with a hot meal and a warm, safe place to sleep in churches and other public buildings across downtown Toronto.

• San Francisco STA is holding a toy drive, with all donations benefiting the San Francisco Firefighter Toy Program, at the annual SFSTA Holiday Party on December 14. The city’s largest and nation’s oldest program of its kind, the Toy Program annually distributes over 200,000 toys to more than 40,000 disadvantaged children, so that no child goes without a toy during the holiday season.

Through these meaningful donations of time, money and resources, STA affiliates are making a positive impact on the cities and wider communities they serve. These charitable events, occurring across North America this holiday season, show the collective power of our organization and the larger impact we can have when we band together for causes that resonate with us.

This Giving Tuesday, we encourage you to embrace the spirit of the holidays and join STA members in giving back to your community however you can. Never doubt your power to make a positive change in the lives of others – or the compounding effects of rallying your community for a cause.