Editorial: Giving has impact

The GivingTuesday movement marked its 10th anniversary last week.

Since 2012, the last Tuesday of November has been pegged as the one day of each year when people should think about giving rather than shopping, as they are so strenuously encouraged to do on the last Friday of the month via Black Friday promotions.

It’s not necessarily easy to switch one’s mindset from expecting a physical object in exchange for doling out our often hard-earned money. But the rewards of donating to a charitable organization, or of simply helping a neighbour are just as tangible — even without considering the income tax benefits of donating to registered charities.

Many people on Salt Spring and the other Gulf Islands are concerned about climate change, species loss and environmental degradation, but are not sure how to have impact as one individual.

Contributing to important land conservation campaigns currently underway on three islands is one way to make a real difference.

The largest — undertaken by the Nature Conservancy of Canada — will preserve a whopping 400 acres of south-end land off Reginald Hill. The four lots in question are especially valuable because they connect to other conserved lands, preserving wildlife corridors and more. As of last week, the remaining funds needed were approximately $500,000. If added to the recent successful Salt Spring Community Park campaign that saw 75 acres of Mount Maxwell land purchased, the Reginald Hill acquisition would make 2022 a banner year for conservation on Salt Spring.

On Pender Island, the Pender Islands Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation have gathered more than 84 per cent of the $2.1-million needed to save the 45-acre KELA_EKE Kingfisher Forest. An anonymous donor is matching all amounts given by a Dec. 31 deadline, so that goal is in sight with a final financial push.

And just announced last week is the need for the last $50,000 to save the 78-acre Mount Fisher Bluffs on Saturna Island by the end of the year in a campaign undertaken by The Nature Trust of B.C.

Of course any number of worthy charitable groups on the islands can benefit from donations at this or any other time of year (with some of them described in articles in this week’s paper).

Without a doubt, your choices and donated dollars can and do have a tangible, measurable impact.