Last year's #givingtuesday was a record breaker - and organisers hope this year will exceed it
Charity campaign #givingtuesday has launched a search for the UK’s ultimate charity champion to inspire the nation to do good stuff.
It is searching for someone who has shown extraordinary commitment to a charity and who has the potential to be the UK face of this year’s #givingtuesday – the global day of giving.
#givingtuesday is led in the UK by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and will take place on Tuesday 29 November.
It encourages people to “do good stuff” for causes they care about following the shopping frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
#givingtuesday is a huge celebration of doing good and a chance to shine a light on the fantastic work that charities do
This will be the third year it has been held in the UK and last year it broke a Guinness World Record for the most online donations in 24 hours and was the top trending item on Twitter with support from celebrities including JK Rowling, Lily Allen and Gary Lineker.
The 2016 #givingtuesday champion will be chosen by a panel of judges including last year’s winner Andrew Davies, who became the first UK #givingtuesday champion last year after pledging to raise £150,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital which supported him through a bone marrow transplant.
The other judges on the panel are Paul Stanworth, assistant editor at BBC Newsbeat, Mika Simmons, actress and founder of Gynaecological Cancer Fund’s Lady Garden campaign, Zoe Parkinson from Vice Magazine and Mike Buonaiuto, chief executive of social change company Shape History.
This year’s winner will be the face of #givingtuesday 2016. They will receive a donation to a charity of their choice and will be rewarded with a hot air balloon ride over the UK countryside.
Hannah Terrey, head of policy and campaigns at CAF, said: “#givingtuesday is a huge celebration of doing good and a chance to shine a light on the fantastic work that charities do across the UK and around the world. It is the collective action of thousands of people and organisations that makes this day so powerful.
“We hope our charity champion search will discover a star who already embodies the campaign through their commitment to charity and who can inspire lots of other people to become involved and do good stuff.
“The person we're searching for will have gone above and beyond to support a charity in some way. They might have raised loads of money or maybe they’ve volunteered hundreds of hours. They might even work for a charity and have committed their whole lives to doing good stuff.
“If you or someone you know has shown extraordinary commitment to a charity they care about and has the potential to inspire others then nominate them to be our #givingtuesday champion.”
Nominations can be made online. Entries will close on Friday, 14 October and a shortlist will be announced on Monday, 17 October.
The winner will be revealed on Tuesday, 1 November. Entrants need to aged 16 or over and reside in the UK.
