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With Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, many of us are getting swept up in the joy of spending during the holiday weekend after Thanksgiving. However, a new tradition is taking hold and it is a worldwide event: #GivingTuesday. On December 1st, people around the globe are encouraged to give back this holiday season to those less fortunate.

This year, at Barnes and Noble of Warwick, several mayors from across Rhode Island joined together for the dedication ceremony of #GivingTuesday. During the event, 20% of anything purchased was donated directly to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Ocean State. Authors of IT Free Fall and owners of SNECS, Nick Bernfeld and Paul Riendeau were also in attendance for the event. They were visited by some old friends and colleagues who were also in attendance of #GivingTuesday.

After the dedication ceremony, the lines at the registers grew as people lined up to purchase holiday gifts that double as a donation to one of Rhode Island’s largest non-profit organizations. Together, the enthusiasm of the local officials and the community helped #GivingTuesday take root as an ongoing tradition here in the Ocean State.

You can see the local news coverage of #GivingTuesday on ABC6.