Giving Tuesday is a movement to celebrate charitable giving. It kicks off with a national day of giving on Nov. 27. We want to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season. Giving Tuesday inspires people to take action to improve their communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the charities and causes they celebrate and help create a better world. Black Friday and cyber Monday have become shopping days for the commercial world. Giving Tuesday is a new shopping day, focused on the true spirit of giving - giving to those in need.

The Giving Tuesday movement is harnessing the power of social media to promote a true holiday spirit of caring. Give to make the world better and use social media to spread the word.

Here's what Catholic Charities is doing to celebrate Giving Tuesday:

• Starting in October, we're celebrating "Recognize random acts of kindness" to encourage people to send an ecard or a gift basket to acknowledge someone who's done something especially kind.
• Starting in November, we'll ask people to post on our Facebook page something for which they are thankful. We'll also offer ecards and gift baskets to send in recognition.
• Nov. 27, remember our Christmas Giving page where you make all your gift giving simple and send ecards . Give truly meaningful gifts that gives back to your community in honor of your friends and loved ones.

Here's what some of the Giving Tuesday organizers have said about this national day to give back.

"Communities like ours are about opening doors and bringing people together. #GivingTuesday allows us to create a new kind of community - across geographical borders - around the idea of 'doing good.'" Sol Adler, Executive Director, 92nd St. YMCA, NYC

"It's been a privilege to work with remarkable leaders all over the country building a movement around #GivingTuesday. This initiative has truly been crowd-sourced by some of the smartest and most connected minds among the next generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurs." Henry Timms, Deputy Executive Director, 92nd St. YMCA, NYC

"#GivingTuesday is a counter narrative to Black Friday and Cyber Monday because it reminds us that the spirit of the holiday giving season should be about community and not just consumerism. The most meaningful gift we can give our children, loved ones, friends, and neighbors is the commitment to work together to help build a better world." Kathy Calvin, CEO, UN Foundation

"At Unilever, we've always believed in the power of our brands to improve the quality of people's lives and in doing the right thing. Essential to our mission is to work to create a better future every day and inspire people to take small actions that can add up to a big difference in the world. #GivingTuesday shares t hose same principles and together, driven by the focus on a given day, the impact will be that much greater." Jonathan Atwood, Vice President, Sustainability & Corporate Communications, Unilever