HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Normally, Giving Tuesday happens just after Thanksgiving, but with COVID-19 causing so many businesses to temporarily close and people to be out of work, the need to give is greater than ever.

So today is Giving Tuesday, and it’s your chance to give back to those in need.

Even though physically we need to stay apart from one another, this is meant to be a day of unity. There are many non-profits being stretched thin trying to help people during this time and Melissa Thompson from the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville says they need resources to make that happen.

“Many of our nonprofits have lost revenue from not having galas or other fundraisers they haven’t been able to do or their thrift stores have been closed and they haven’t been able to get revenue that way, so they could really use our help.”

The Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville is one option to consider if you want to donate today – they opened up an emergency relief fund when businesses started closing down.

So far they have raised more than $320,000 and with that money have supported more than 30 non- profits.

But you are encouraged to support a nonprofit that matters to you, maybe a museum you love, animal shelter, medical facility, the boys and girls club, or others. A search of “Alabama” on the Giving Tuesday website shows 743 different nonprofits that are accepting donations.

Another way to give back is by writing a thank you note to health care workers or maybe the essential workers working at your local grocery store. It’s a small simple gesture that may just make someone’s day and remind them that we are all in this together.