The towns of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport have proclaimed Dec. 2 #GivingTuesday as “A Day of Giving for the Boothbay Region.”

#GivingTuesday is the first of its kind to harness 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.

Coinciding with the Thanksgiving holiday and the kick-off of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support, and help create a better world.

Twenty-six nonprofits in the Boothbay region have joined together to form Boothbay Treasures, a collaborative effort to raise awareness of the many good deeds being done by local organizations for the people of the Boothbay region, and beyond. The staff, board members, and volunteers of these organizations truly believe that they live in one of the most caring places on Earth and want everyone to know about it!

The group is grateful to the towns’ selectmen for participating in this effort and applauds their forward-thinking to promote giving back to our community in a way that is personally meaningful to each and every citizen this holiday season.

“Boothbay region community members and organizations have done tremendous work to celebrate philanthropy and volunteerism and encourage their fellow community members to give whatever they are able to give ... This work will inspire people throughout Maine to do whatever they can to help their neighbors during the holiday season,” Gov. Paul LePage said of the effort. “I sincerely appreciate the excellent work of the organizations and individuals in the Boothbay region for raising awareness to giving to those who are less fortunate.”

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 in New York City, 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 92nd Street Y to explore what is working in modern philanthropy and how to expand these innovations throughout the philanthropic sector.

“It’s been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday,” said Henry Timms, 92Y’s executive director. “This initiative has truly been crowd-sourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the next generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs.”

“#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 finding out more about the organizations that make up Boothbay Treasures can do so by liking the Boothbay Treasures page on Facebook and on the Boothbay Register’s online Main Street section, or by contacting Valerie Young at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, chairman of the 2014 Boothbay Treasures collaboration.