DANVILLE – Giving Tuesday is Dec. 1, and State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign) is encouraging those who are able to give back to their communities on this charitable occasion.

“As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, so does the need for help from local charitable organizations,” Bennett said. “There’s something everyone can do to help, whether it is donating to a good cause, volunteering your time to help others in our community, or simply showing acts of kindness.”

Giving Tuesday, created in 2012 as a day to encourage people to do good, has since grown into a global movement for charitable giving on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Bennett encourages folks willing and able to consider reaching out to a local charitable organization to ask how they can help. These organizations may include animal shelters, blood banks, or other groups serving children and youth, artists, small businesses, restaurant workers, homeless individuals, and more.

Additionally, Bennett is hosting two drives to benefit those in Champaign and Vermilion Counties, which supports the Giving Tuesday initiative.

Bennett’s Champaign office is collecting new backpacks, hygiene supplies, long underwear, and socks for C-U at Home through Friday, Dec. 18. A collection box is located outside of his office in Champaign, located at 45 E. University, Suite 206.

Bennett’s Danville office is collecting homemade and store-bought cards, to help spread some holiday cheer, which will be sent to the residents at Gardenview Manor and Danville Care Center. Cards can be delivered to the collection box outside of Bennett’s Danville office, located at 201 N. Vermilion St., Suite 323 through Monday, Dec. 14.

For more information on Bennett’s holiday drives, contact his Champaign office at 217-355-5252 or Danville office at 217-442-5252. For more information on the Giving Tuesday initiative, visit https://hq.givingtuesday.org.