Catalan landmarks pay homage to #GivingTuesday

Tuesday, May 5, marks a special celebration of the Giving Tuesday initiative in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic, and Catalan monuments are getting involved in the action as well. 

The #GivingTuesday platform was created to be a day for the world to make donations to good causes and give back to communities, and Sagrada Familia and the Hospital Sant Pau, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, are lighting up in special colours.

Normally, Giving Tuesday takes place the Tuesday after Black Friday, contrasting the day created to be particularly fruitful for the economy with one intended to be special for the community, with charities, companies, and individuals rallying together to raise funds for and awareness of good causes.

Giving Tuesday “is set to spark an increase in grassroots generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits around the world,” according to the organizer’s website.

As such, various Catalan landmarks partnered with nonprofits to spread the word of the day. The Sagrada Familia will be lit up in red lights on Tuesday evening as a sign of support to the Catalan charity Càritas. 

“The requests for help that Caritas has received since the state of alarm was declared have multiplied by three,” the press release reads, explaining “these demands are on the rise.” 

As such, Càritas are calling for a similar rise in donations from the public, so they can continue their social work. The public are also encouraged to share photos they may take of or with the lit up Sagrada Familia with the hashtags #CàritasNoPara and #GivingTuesdayNow, so that more people know about the need for urgent donations. 

The modernist Hospital Sant Pau is another iconic location to light up in a special way on Tuesday evening. The Hospital started their “Sant Pau fighting against coronavirus” campaign last month and has raised nearly €24,000 for health services fighting Covid-19. 

The hospital’s charity wing, the Hospital Sant Pau Foundation, has donated half a million euros to the purchasing of healthcare material for the hospital itself since the start of the pandemic.