“Happy valentine’s day, lil lady!”
“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. And Generosity Day!”
“Whaaaa? Haha.”
“It’s Generosity Day!”
“Saint Generosity? Never heard of him.”

Real text conversation at 8:00am this morning.

I’m not super savvy on my saints, but I’m going to say that there is no St. Generosity. But that doesn’t mean today can’t be rebranded as Generosity day.

Evidently, at last year’s Social Media Week (held around Valentine’s Day), Katya Andresen of Network for Good, Sasha Dichter of Acumen Fund, and Ellen McGirt of Fast Company all sat on a panel for a session called “Nonprofits Using Social Media To Close Doors For Good.” The panel was introduced by Scott Case of Malaria No More, who led the session in brainstorming ideas and solutions for social entrepreneurs and non-profiters in the audience.

Afterwards, Sasha was discussing his “Generosity Experiment” with Katya, in which he said YES to everyone who asked him for help for an entire month. The discussion inspired him to take back Valentine’s Day and celebrate a different kind of love. He launched Generosity Day 2011, utilizing social media platforms, reaching out to his network, and partnering with Network for Good. The inspired Sasha then inspired others to rebrand their Valentine’s Day to Generosity Day by “doing good.”

And this year, Generosity Day is back. Individuals and organizations worldwide are spreading the word and showing some love, not just to significant others and special loved ones in their lives, but to their neighbors, their communities, and even strangers on the street.

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Below is another video, made by the interns at Pencils of Promise: “#GenerosityDay Fail.” The part about holding the door open has happened to me more than once.

 
And one more video made by Jason & the crew from Jubilee Project: “What is Love?”

Enjoy, and happy loving!

It’s Valentine’s Day!

…Oops?

Oh. You forgot.

No worries, The Adventure Project‘s got you covered. Today, they’re sending out personalized e-cards for you, making your life a little easier.

But they’re not just e-cards, of course (when are they ever “just” anything with The Adventure Project?) — they’re e-cards that add venture and impact lives.

Show your love online (yes, we’re green like that) by sending a simple e-card with a major impact. Just choose from one of their four cards (each one supporting one of their four projects: Health, Environment, Water, Hunger) and include a note to your special someone. And The Adventure Project will send it out to your loved one at some point today. Simple and sweet.

Your gift will arrive on time, show that you care, and change lives. Can’t get much better than that, right?

Pick yours out before today ends!

Some favorite quotes I’ve been seeing fill up my feeds today:

• “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
• “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
• “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”