After a long weekend of buying, a Philly version of Giving Tuesday

First there was Black Friday. Later came Cyber Monday.

Then last year, for the first time, communities across the country celebrated Giving Tuesday, a loosely organized event meant to promote philanthropy after a long weekend of consumerism.

This year small businesses, philanthropic leaders and community groups banded together for a Philly-specific Giving Tuesday, calling it #GivingTuesdayPHL and offering up a slew of ways for locals to direct donations toward work or projects they care about. But giving back doesn’t have to mean giving cash.

“One of the more dramatic [examples] is a group called InLiquid, which does arts and youth,” said Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust. “They’re actually organizing the biggest expungement of youth who have been convicted [of crimes] as minors. They’re doing the paperwork for them on Giving Tuesday, which is really remarkable.”

For more ideas on how to give back locally today, visit the #GivingTuesdayPHL website.