YARMOUTH — You’ve heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Maybe you set your alarm after indulging in turkey and stuffing. You may support your local merchants instead of the big box retailers. Perhaps you are one of the millions who log on, punch in your credit card number, and press the ‘Order’ button.

What if there was another way to get in the holiday spirit, one that didn’t involve shopping lists, long lines, sales taxes and shipping dates? What if holiday gifting was more about the giving than the getting?

Well, there’s a new day on the calendar. Its name is #GivingTuesday, a social media movement working to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. Founded by the United Nations Foundation and the 92nd Street Y, it celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations.

With over 4,000 nonprofit partners on board this year, #GivingTuesday is scheduled for Dec. 3.

We all are familiar with the adage, “it is more powerful to give than receive.” Apparently, many Americans agree. According to a report published by the Giving USA Foundation and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, individual charitable giving in the United States grew more than 3 percent last year.

Despite the overall slow recovery of the larger economy, U.S. donations to bolster education, the arts, health, religion and other activities totaled $316.2 billion in 2012, a 3.5 percent increase from the $305.5 billion donated in 2011.

For nonprofits, the impact of giving is obvious. These organizations would not survive and thrive without philanthropic support. The donations enable nonprofits to live their mission and expand their impact among the communities served.

The reciprocal positive impact on the donor also is well documented. Giving makes us more connected, happier and healthier. A National Institute of Health study found that when people give to charities, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection and trust, creating a “warm glow” effect.

There also are numerous studies that link giving to better health. A joint study by Johns Hopkins University and the University of Tennessee found that people who provided social support to others had lower blood pressure than participants who did not, suggesting a direct physiological benefit to those who give of themselves.

The evidence suggests that charitable giving matters – and strengthens both the giver and the receiver.

This holiday season, let’s think less about packages and wrapping paper. Let’s spend more time looking up and reaching out.

We can support the trained staff who answer the crisis hotline. We can bolster the inventory of our local food pantries in the lean winter months. We can help the land trust preserve that special corner of Maine for our children’s children. We can invest in education as a means of bringing families and children out of poverty and strengthening Maine’s workforce.

Let’s start on #GivingTuesday. We will be healthier and happier. Our community will be better off. The residual effects will last long past the removal of the last wilted holiday decoration. All of this giving will help us get just what we need this holiday season.

Imagine all we can accomplish with the click of a button.

— Special to the Press Herald