For this year’s nationally-celebrated Giving Tuesday fundraising event, Grand Valley State University raised $6,509 over its $20,000 goal, with a total of 333 people contributing. That’s almost $80 per person donated. The kicker is, the university was able to raise all that in one day. All of the donated money will go to the Student Support Fund, a fund that helps students in financial distress. 

Surprisingly, the sum raised for Giving Tuesday is more than twice what members of the Laker community raised during the week-long fundraising efforts of Battle of the Valleys. 

College is a tough time for many students financially. With living expenses, tuition and the essential spending money, it does not leave a lot of room for students to give out donations. To see this many students and community members supporting GVSU is admirable. If we can collect this much money in one day, imagine what we could raise over the entire holiday season, for example. 

There are charity opportunities that sponsor almost any area you may want to give to. Do your research. There may be a cause close to your heart that you can contribute to. This not only makes a big difference in someone else’s life, but also gives you the satisfaction of knowing you helped out an honorable cause. 

Over the next couple of months, many charities will be out in the area engaging community members. This is a time when many charitable organizations are lacking monetary support and more people than ever are in need, especially as winter weather approaches. Though we are all worried about having enough money, most of us often have at least a nickel to spare. 

During the Giving Tuesday fundraiser, University Development provided jars where students could deposit any extra change from their pockets. Though most students were probably not contributing hundreds of dollars worth of coins, raising a total of $26,509 in one day shows that every little bit counts. 

As a student body of more than 25,000 students, we have great power to do good. Events like Giving Tuesday and even the fundraiser for Battle of the Valleys are things we should take advantage of, no matter how little we can give or how little impact we think we may have. If every student donated $1, that’s $25,000 that can help hundreds of people in need. 

There is power in numbers, and numbers are something we are not short on at this university.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great, but so is making sure to give back and help those who really need the extra hand. The Lanthorn commends the members of the GVSU community for raising so much money for their fellow students in need, and we hope that this giving spirit will continue throughout the upcoming holiday season.