Gifts of Energy from Consumers Energy offer a convenient solution for those who want to help others this Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday) is a global day where people are encouraged to donate time, goods or their voice in order to assist those in need.

Perhaps you’ve started shopping at your local farmers market weekly. Maybe you’ve replaced your incandescent lightbulbs with LEDs. You might have started paying a bit extra for the organic strawberries instead of the regular ones. How should you feel?

Best Buy’s 12,000 employees are enjoying the retailer’s new employee giving program that matches 40 per cent of their donations to registered Canadian charities. The retailer’s new open giving program, called ‘myGiving’ launched in June.

“We’ve had lots of really great feedback,” says Karen Arsenault, Manager, Community Relations at Best Buy Canada Ltd. “People are excited about the program because they often have personal connections to charities and want to give back, whether it’s in support of a family member that has gone through cancer or helping a friend participating in a run or a ride in support of a specific charity.”

The program uses a simple online tool that makes giving to charities that “are near and dear to our employees’ hearts” really easy.

For more than ten years AIDA Cruises has already been supporting the work of SOS Children’s Village (SOS-Kinderdorf) in worldwide projects for disadvantaged children. Revenue from the sales of the book “CREATIVE – Fold the most beautiful hand towel animals” in which the cruise provider has collected ideas for artfully folded zoo creatures, is also benefiting children and adolescents. On board AIDAprima, the crew under Director Hotel & Guest Services Marc Spingler have sent a charity check for the proud sum of 6,000 euros on its journey to the Iloilo SOS Children’s Village in the southeast of the Philippine island of Panay.

For decades, almost all major brands – and now, almost every brand -- have subscribed to one or another factory social/labor compliance monitoring program. Timberland, for example, first launched its Code of Conduct in 1994. At first glance, this is good news as brands increasingly recognize their role to ensure that their factory partners promote worker safety and treat all workers with dignity and respect. Yet after decades of having these programs in place we have not yet fully moved the needle to protect workers’ rights.

President Trump ran on a campaign that promised to bring the coal industry back in America. But to billionaire mogul, former New York City mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, that’s an empty promise given that long before climate change activists began railing against it, the industry was on a downward trajectory because of technology and cheaper alternatives like natural gas. In 2015, the founder of the privately-held Bloomberg L.P. asked top lieutenant Katherine Oliver to back a film that could explain the issue from both sides — the workers displaced when coal plants close and the health costs of the polluting industry when they remain open. The result is Michael Bonfiglio’s From the Ashes, one of the environmental-themed contenders in this year’s Oscar documentary feature race.

Antea Group talks about what some businesses are doing and what resources are available for you in the combat against climate change. Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges to the continued prosperity of businesses, communities, and ecosystems around the world.

This #GivingTuesday Orbis encourages supporters to give the gift of sight by participating in our matching challenge. One of our generous donors has agreed to match all #GivingTuesday donations up to $25,000. Funds will support our vision restoring work in places like Bangladesh, where four-year-old Halima had two cataracts removed by an Orbis-trained surgeon.

On Giving Tuesday, we’re highlighting a project with a talented team from Fidelity Investments and its nonprofit partner, The Center for Transforming Lives (CTL). CTL has provided safe housing, early childhood education, and financial empowerment services for economically disadvantaged women and children in the Texas community for over 100 years. CTL impacted 3,814 women, children, and families in fiscal year 2016 alone; however, the organization’s previous website failed to lift up their vast impact. The site was static, outdated, and challenging for staff to maintain. To better showcase their impact on the community, CTL partnered with a team of technologists from Fidelity Investments to build a new, user-friendly website on the Wix platform.

JetBlue is celebrating November (aka Philanthrophy Month) as JetBlue For Good Month. Service is part of our DNA at JetBlue. JetBlue For Good Month celebrates all the ways we give back year-round. Earlier this month, we asked our customers to "Check-In For Good." In honor of #GivingTuesday, the international day of giving kicking off the holiday season, we’re offering even more opportunities for customers and crewmembers to get on board to bring our mission of Inspiring Humanity® to life.