Pledge your support for libraries and teens with YALSA and #GivingTuesday

CHICAGO – The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners—charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they support and help create a better world. Taking place Dec. 3, 2013 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a national moment around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.

In conjunction with the national #GivingTuesday movement, YALSA has created an online campaign to raise awareness of the important role libraries play in helping teens succeed in school and prepare for careers, and to raise funds to help YALSA advocate for libraries. YALSA’s goal is to raise $2,000 to send to members to National Library Legislative Day to advocate for library services for teens.

YALSA will be using a platform called Thunderclap to flood Twitter and Facebook with a "take action to give teens a brighter future" message. The Thunderclap allows people to pledge a Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook message that is unleashed at the same time. It’s completely safe and will automatically post exactly one message on your behalf at 1p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 3. The message has been pre-created by YALSA and says: “Support libraries' efforts to give all teens a bright future by being a part of #GivingTuesday http://thndr.it/17c4Fjk”

It takes 10 seconds to join the Thunderclap so you can send out the message—here’s how:

• Click on this link http://thndr.it/1bnbVud
• Choose Twitter, Facebook and/or Tumblr
• From the new screen, log into your Twitter, Facebook and/or Tumblr account
• That’s it! You can opt to share the Thunderclap with others (please do!), or just close the box

Please sign up for the Thunderclap by no later than 9 a.m. Eastern time on Dec. 3 Another option for participating in YALSA’s #GivingTuesday effort is to host a local fundraiser on behalf of the organization. YALSA has a free toolkit to help individuals plan and implement a fundraising event. To learn more about YALSA and #GivingTuesday or to access the toolkit, visit http://www.ala.org/yalsa/givetoyalsa/give.

About the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens. For more information about YALSA, or to apply for the advocacy stipend to go to National Library Legislative Day, go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail, yalsa@ala.org.

About #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give. It will culminate with a global day of giving on Dec. 3, 2013. This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners— charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. #GivingTuesday will harness the power of social media to create a global moment that is dedicated to giving around the world.

A team of recognized experts and influencers, initially convened by leaders of 92nd Street Y and supported by a core group of founding partners, originally spearheaded this effort. Founding partners in 2012 included United Nations Foundation, DonorsChoose.org, Mashable, Blackbaud, charity: water, GlobalGiving, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Kiva, Darden Restaurant Group, Groupon, Unilever and VentureThree Capital. Leaders in philanthropy, social media, innovative giving, grassroots organizing, marketing and communications are providing counsel and resources to help build this movement.

To learn more about #GivingTuesday participants and activities or to join the celebration of giving, please visit:

Website: www.givingtuesday.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday

Twitter: twitter.com/GivingTues