{"id":586,"date":"2015-12-01T17:00:49","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T17:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/closeup\/?p=586"},"modified":"2015-12-01T21:40:50","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T21:40:50","slug":"ottawa-gives-back-this-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/closeup\/2015\/12\/01\/ottawa-gives-back-this-tuesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa gives back this Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Marg_M-5773\"<\/a>

Margaret Miedema, head of fundraising at Canadian Blood Services, has worked to promote\u00a0stem cell research for cancer treatment. | Photo Credit: Margaret Miedema<\/p><\/div>\n

On the heels of Cyber Monday\u2019s online gorging<\/a>, the Giving Tuesday movement wants to shift people away from mass consumerism and toward the spirit of giving.<\/p>\n

Margaret Miedema, a long-time philanthropist and director of fundraising and development for Canadian Blood Services, was at City Hall along with 29 other charity representatives to promote the third year of Canada\u2019s involvement in the event.<\/p>\n

Before she got into the not-for-profit sector, Miedema worked in analytical chemistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call it my before children and after children life,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n

Miedema\u00a0said the organization\u2019s ground-breaking work on an umbilical cord blood bank inspired her own sense of giving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was their first-ever fundraising campaign,\u201d Miedema recounted. \u201cThey set out to build a public umbilical cord blood bank \u2013 to collect umbilical cord blood for stem cells to be used in cancer treatments and up to 80 diseases and disorders,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was the science part of me that was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, this is just so cool.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Miedema noted that Giving Tuesday was a major component of promoting fundraising for the cord blood bank. In all of 2013, Canadian Blood Services raised approximately $27,500 in online donations. But in 2014, on Giving Tuesday alone, the non-profit raised $38,000.<\/p>\n

Beacon Hill-Cyrville councillor Tim Tierney congratulated the charities that came to City Hall to promote Giving Tuesday<\/a>, noting that people from his community are always in need of more help than what the government can provide.<\/p>\n

\"Councillor<\/a>

Councillor Tim Tierney poses with representatives of local charities at City Hall to promote Giving Tuesday.<\/p><\/div>\n

Giv3 and Canada Helps \u2013 two organizations that encourage people to give to charities \u2013 partnered up in 2013 to bring Giving Tuesday to Canada. While the charity day originated in the United States, it has since spread globally to more than 70 countries.<\/p>\n

Lys Huggessen, president of Giv3, said it\u2019s difficult to measure the total amount of engagement from the day because the movement is open and not limited to fundraising. But since its inaugural year online donations have tripled.<\/p>\n

Even though the day relies on grassroots efforts, Huggessen called Giving Tuesday a \u201csocial media phenomenon\u201d with platforms like Twitter helping engage people in the community.<\/p>\n

\"Barbara<\/a>

Barbara Cartwright is one of Ottawa’s distinctive women for her continuing work with the not-for-profit sector.<\/p><\/div>\n

Barbara Cartwright is being honoured as one of Ottawa\u2019s \u201cdistinctive women<\/a>\u201d and has worked with Canadian Federation of Humane Societies for more than four years. Before that she worked in Uganda with the Jane Goodall Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat keeps me going is making a difference in the world,\u201d she said. \u201cI love helping other people or animals, but actually the fact of being able to make a positive influence in the world and do it as a job makes it worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She advised anyone in Ottawa who wanted to get involved to pinpoint exactly where they\u2019d like to put their efforts, and then keep updated through their websites to see if volunteer opportunities arise.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone can do philanthropic work, that\u2019s what I love about it honestly,\u201d Cartwright said.<\/p>\n