As kids grow, parents can only hope to instill values that last a lifetime. For my husband and me, we wanted our kids to appreciate the joy of giving back to others. They were fortunate children -- blessed with a good family, great friends and a wonderful environment. We wanted them to appreciate what they had, and at a very young age introduced the concept of giving to others while you receive many special gifts.
I am so fortunate to work for a corporation that shares my deep personal values. This year, Johnson & Johnson is launching Care Grows. The campaign started yesterday on Dec. 3, #GivingTuesday, and continues throughout the giving season. As an extension of our work with our long-standing non-profit partners, Johnson & Johnson wanted to engage many people in giving back and supporting causes that help children and families in need. Through Care Grows, we are matching individual contributions to over 20 non-profit organizations.
The staggering statistics surrounding children and family health compelled us to enlist even broader support that we alone as a company can give. For example, in 2012, 6.6 million children under the age of five died around the world. More than half of these early child deaths are due to conditions that could be prevented or treated with access to simple, affordable interventions. Out of the industrialized world, the United States has the highest infant mortality rate with 11,300 of our youngest dying within their first 24 hours of life each year. Working together, we believe that we can impact these and other staggering statistics. This is the goal of Care Grows.
Care Grows brings together three social good platforms focused on supporting children and families around the world. These include Catapult, a crowd sourcing, fund-raising site; the Johnson & Johnson Donate a Photo app, where simply uploading a photo can help multiple causes, and the Save the Children's Gifts of Joy catalog, where purchasing a gift for others contributes to an important cause. The combination of these platforms allows for everyone to join us in giving back this holiday season, either through a Johnson & Johnson matched donation when you support a Catapult project or buy a gift from the Gifts of Joy catalog, or with a dollar donation for each photo donated. But really the idea behind Care Grows is simple: When You Give, We Give. Your small act of care can grow into a world of difference.
When we all work together, we can make truly impact the lives of children and families who are in need. Although this sentiment rings throughout the year for me and my family, the holiday season is a time to join together and provide a special joy to others.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post in celebration of #GivingTuesday, which will take place this year (2013) on December 3. The idea behind #GivingTuesday is to kickoff the holiday-giving season, in the same way that Black Friday and Cyber Monday kickoff the holiday-shopping season. We'll feature at least one post from a #GivingTuesday partner every weekday in November. To see all the posts in the series, click here; follow the conversation via #GivingTuesday and learn more here.
And if you'd like to share your own #GivingTuesday story, please send us your 500-850-word post to impactblogs@huffingtonpost.com.