The traditional holiday season sure is crowded with specially named days.

Perhaps inevitable that the marketing phenomenon of “Black Friday” for holiday shopping deals begat “Small Business Saturday,” which in turn spurred “Cyber Monday” and then “Giving Tuesday,” a day urging people to make a charitable contribution to a nonprofit of their choosing.

Making a charitable donation is a purely voluntary act of generosity, and if people are motivated and able to participate in Giving Tuesday, that’s great. But that’s true of any gift of any size on any day – it’s always inspiring. And motivating. And it’s meaningful in a way that transcends our ability to hashtag or bumper sticker or, really, even convey thanks in a manner that’s deserved.

Particularly over the past year and recent days of historic humanitarian emergencies, Direct Relief has the rare privilege of seeing extraordinary, unexpected, and even breathtaking acts of generosity and giving from people just trying to help others less fortunate than they are and trusting Direct Relief to do just that with their money.

For that, we are extraordinarily grateful, and we work hard every day to honor those acts of giving, with deep appreciation and knowledge that such voluntary acts of generosity fuel every single thing Direct Relief does.

We love the idea of Giving Tuesday, but something important seems easily lost in the shuffle if the wonderful act of charitable giving becomes distilled to “give more, now” – similar to what can be lost if thoughtful gift giving gets supplanted with shopping excess.

That’s why, this #GivingTuesday, we’re also celebrating #GratefulTuesday – to recognize you and everyone else who gives so much, and those with whom we work in all 50 states and around the world. It’s all for the simple purpose of helping people overcome big challenges to their health and often lives so they can experience the joys of life and a chance to fulfill their potential.

If no one else knows or cares that, for Direct Relief, #GivingTuesday is also #GratefulTuesday, that’s just fine.

We want you to know.

Thanks for being part of Direct Relief.