Today Is Giving Tuesday (With Pizza!)

It’s way past time to begin a season of charitable giving and community engagement after the consumerist excess of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And Giving Tuesday, launched by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Fund in 2012, has become a way for nonprofits to do just that.

Here in Central Texas, I Live Here I Give Here, an organization whose mission is to make Central Texas the most generous community in the nation, is here to lead the charge.

Their ambitious goal this Giving Tuesday is to accumulate two million Actions-for-Good, which includes traditional monetary donations, as well as volunteering and various “actions for change,” a worthy cause worth pitching in for.

But with so many organizations vying for your holiday guilt/end of fiscal year donations, it’s hard to know where to start investing your money and time. Fortunately, this Giving Tuesday, Big Medium is partnering with I Live Here I Give Here for a delicious pop-up event designed to help charitably minded Austinites kick off giving season with presentations from local nonprofits, helping you figure out the best places to donate those hard-earned dollar bills. To add a spoonful of sugar, there will be fun all-ages activities, plus music, food, and cocktails.

From 5:30 to 8pm, Tuesday, Nov. 27 (today!), Canopy is hosting a free party with a roster of local orgs, each hosting their own special activity designed to educate the public about their missions. Among the long list of participants is Special Olympics Texas, which will be hosting a flag football game with Special Olympic athletes on the field. The Down Home Ranch will be selling their poinsettias to benefit classes at UT for ranchers with special needs. Big Medium will be offering a variety of hands-on family-friendly arts activities. And Texas Folklife will be hosting a storytelling booth where locals can share their favorite Austin story, and presenting a music set by Fiddler Brandon C. Janes IV from Córdoba, Argentina.

Oh, and Home Slice Pizza’s DOUGHVember Finale – a collaboration with PintHouse Pizza and Via 313 – takes place 5-10pm at the South Congress Home Slice. Pinthouse Pizza is hosting a Tap Take Over and Home Slice will be offering their entire menu, the special collaborative menu, and some special one-night-only wines. To boot, 25% of the proceeds from the special menu will benefit SAFE Alliance, and there will be a raffle drawing for Free Pizza for a Year! From the heavy-hitting pizza team:

“Via 313 is making one of their own traditional offerings – The Classic Cheese Pizza – using Home Slice’s ovens. Via 313 will also be making Detroit-style versions of Home Slice's Classic #5 – Pepperoni and Mushroom, and #6 – Italian Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers, and Ricotta ... Additionally, Home Slice will be recreating Via 313's The 500, and the Cadillac, but with NY-style crust. This will mark the second time ever that Home Slice’s highly protected pizza ovens will bake pies not originally created by the Home Slice team in the form of Via 313’s Classic Cheese Pizza.”

Attendees who take the most actions for good during the event (including tasks like learning about pet fostering from the Austin Humane Society, purchasing a homemade holiday pie from Meals on Wheels to provide a week's worth of meals for local seniors, or collecting school supplies and volunteering to sign up with Breakthrough Central Texas) will be eligible to collect prizes from the 2nd Street District, including a basket of luxury hair products from Luxe Apothetique, a La Condesa gift card, and more.

Nibble on a couple of complimentary cookies from Tiff’s Treats, sip complimentary cocktails from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Nine-Banded Whiskey, and buy a couple of tasty bites from Pitalicious, Four Brothers Venezuelan, Stacked Sliders and Shishman while learning about easy ways to help support your fellow Austinites this giving season and all year long.