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Rebooting Valentine’s Day

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Sasha

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I want all my readers to hear first.  This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be rebooted as Generosity Day: one day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying “Yes.”  Let’s make the day about love, action and human connection – because we can do better than smarmy greeting cards, overpriced roses, and stressed-out couples trying to create romantic meals on the fly.

I’ll share more on Monday morning (Valentine’s Day), but wanted to let my readers know today that I’m reaching out to a bunch of great bloggers who I respect to spread the word.  Would love your help in doing the same.

On the day of, we’ll be using the hashtag #generosityday to share what people are doing.  The goal is to spend Valentine’s Day being more generous, giving more money, sharing of yourself, being of service.  All acts of generosity, small and big alike, count.  But you have to say YES to everything that’s asked of you, all day long! It’s about creating more generosity in the world, and becoming a more open person along the way.

BACKGROUND: Longtime readers will remember my Generosity Experiment (here’s the blog post or, if you prefer, here’s the video).  My experiment lasted a month, and I found it transformative.  I bet you’ll love doing this for a day.

Examples of great things to do on #generosityday:

  • Give money to….a street musician, a homeless person, your favorite charity
  • Take old clothes from your closet and give them to goodwill
  • Leave a $5 tip for a $2 coffee
  • Introduce yourself to someone you see every day but have never said hello to
  • Bring in lunch for your co-workers
  • Give someone a compliment

If you like this idea, please:

  1. Between now and Monday, tell people (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that you’re committing to a day of generosity this Valentine’s Day.  Committing in advance will help you follow through. (Sample Facebook/Twitter status update that you can post BEFORE MONDAY:  “I’m in!  Let’s reboot Valentine’s Day as #generosityday on Monday http://bit.ly/fJASGV”)
  2. Add to the list (above) of suggested generous actions by commenting on this post or contacting me directly.
  3. Share the idea with other bloggers and friends by emailing them the link to this page (http://bit.ly/fJASGV)

This could be big – but I’ll need your help to make it happen!

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Sasha Dichter

I’m Sasha Dichter. I’ve written this blog since 2008, about generosity, fundraising, leadership and the long, slow work of pursuing mastery. By day I run 60 Decibels. More about me · Browse by topic

Comments

83 responses to “Rebooting Valentine’s Day”

  1. Tweets that mention Rebooting Valentine’s Day | Sasha Dichter’s Blog — Topsy.com

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Acumen Fund, Katya Andresen, Sasha Dichter, Rachel, Chicago for Acumen and others. Chicago for Acumen said: RT @acumenfund: We're in! Who's with us? Let’s reboot Valentine’s Day as #generosityday on Monday http://bit.ly/fJASGV […]

  2. Adir Tavares Avatar
    Adir Tavares

    Isso não existe, somente o dia dos namorados, na verdade, o dia do cafajeste!!!

  3. Thomas George Avatar
    Thomas George

    all the best wishes.

  4. Rebooting Valentine’s Day (via Sasha Dichter’s Blog) « Chronicles of a Non-profit:

    […] I want all my readers to hear first.  This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be rebooted as Generosity Day: one day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying “Yes.”  Let’s make the day about love, action and human connection – because we can do better than smarmy greeting cards, overpriced roses, and stressed-out couples trying to create romantic meals on the fly. I’ll share more o … Read More […]

  5. Janelle Fields Avatar
    Janelle Fields

    Dialing back on the consumer frenzy that grips most holidays is such a good idea. Maybe not for the economy but it can only be good for our collective souls.

  6. Jessica Journey Avatar
    Jessica Journey

    Love the idea, Sasha! I’ve scheduled some tweets to help raise awareness for generosity.

  7. Michael C Avatar
    Michael C

    what a glorious Heart !

  8. Ana Luiza Avatar
    Ana Luiza

    Great!

  9. Andrew Solomon Avatar
    Andrew Solomon

    Thanks, Sasha. This is long overdue.

  10. dinakar p v Avatar
    dinakar p v

    a fantastic beginning. will do wat hav to make this a success.

  11. CR Avatar
    CR

    What a great idea — initiating random and not-so-random acts of kindness can only make our world a better place as these acts resonate within the hearts of all involved.

  12. Twitted by somethingfierce

    […] This post was Twitted by somethingfierce […]

  13. g .a . Khan Avatar
    g .a . Khan

    respected sahsha ,
    u given great meaning to v .day .generouty day has cleared many ignorant minds especially in the eastern part of the world.
    Regards,
    g .a Khan

  14. Jessica gottlieb Avatar
    Jessica gottlieb

    What a fabulous idea. Thank you for inspiring positive change.

  15. Susan Hammond Avatar
    Susan Hammond

    Sasha,
    I would add to your list taking time to mentor a young person perhaps even establishing a long-term relationship to help the person develop their greatness as recent post by Saul Kaplan at the Business Innovation Factory discussed. http://tinyurl.com/46zwx2q.

    Susan C Hammond
    http://www.advisoryboardkit.com

  16. Amy Z Avatar
    Amy Z

    love this idea and am sharing it with my little corner of the world! looking forward to being generous both tomorrow and in general!

  17. I am Rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day with Acumen Fund, Come Join Us! « Living Out Lod(Rose)!

    […] http://sashadichter.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/rebooting-valentines-day/ […]

  18. Dana Avatar
    Dana

    visit your local nursing home and spend time with the residents.

  19. Ferozan Nasiri Avatar
    Ferozan Nasiri

    Love the idea, truly inspiring.

  20. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    This is a stunning idea. I’m promoting it here: http://bit.ly/aplombgenerosity.

  21. Twitted by Itwitunot

    […] This post was Twitted by Itwitunot […]

  22. Arvind Devalia | Make It Happen Avatar
    Arvind Devalia | Make It Happen

    What a great idea, Sasha!

    Let’s make it happen:-)

  23. Shadi Mirza Avatar
    Shadi Mirza

    I’m in! I already donated $50 to Roots and Wings International, an NPO that gives scholarship to indigenous Guatemalan youth. This is a great idea, Sasha. I caught your Tweet in my stream this morning, and I could not possibly agree more.

    My wife and I have NEVER celebrated Valentine’s Day. I don’t need a special day to tell her something I tell her every single day. I’ll spread the word on all my social networks.

  24. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    I love this idea. I’m doing it.

  25. Rebooting Valentine’s Day as #GenerosityDay « Life Communicated.

    […] And the best part about this – the plan was developed only a couple of days ago and thanks to the power of social media it is spreading like wild fire. To read the stories behind Generosity Day, go here and here. […]

  26. Reinventing Valentine’s Day | Frugaltopia

    […] been looking for a Valentine’s Day alternative for years and am totally on board with Sasha Dichter’s idea to reboot Valentine’s Day as “Generosity Day.” A day where you say “yes” to everything that is asked of you all day […]

  27. Kim McCaffery Avatar
    Kim McCaffery

    Thanks, Sasha! Generosity Day is going to be SO much better than Valentine’s Day. Posted about it on my blog.

  28. Donna Roy Avatar
    Donna Roy

    My students have multiple and severe disabilities and this month we have been talking about giving back and what we can give to others. The kids are getting it and it shows in their interactions with others. It is absolutely freeing for them to realize that they have much to give. Their joy overwhelms me.

  29. Nora B. Peevy Avatar
    Nora B. Peevy

    Random acts of kindness, senseless acts of beauty… your post reminds me of this saying. I like your thinking.

    I blogged about memorializing your loved ones in a story. I am not a big Valentine’s Day person. In fact, my husband and I do not celebrate the Hallmark holiday for the reason that it is a HALLMARK holiday. Ugh …

    -Nora

  30. for immediate release | Tom Fishburne: Marketoonist

    […] A philanthropist at the Acumen Fund, Sasha hatched an experiment to reboot Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day: “saying yes to everything that’s asked of you, all day long”. Compare how he […]

  31. Love your half, love the world! | imagine there is no…

    […] These are proposal by Sasha Ditcher who started the initiative to reboot valentine’s day into generosity day. […]

  32. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    Wow! Look how this has spread now: http://www.fastcompany.com/1727145/re-booting-valentine-s-day-for-good

  33. Brent Avatar
    Brent

    Love the idea and love the fact that you’re using your platform to make an impact.

    One idea is to ask a homeless person their name and listen to their story.

    I’ll be participating and sharing. Thanks for the work.

  34. Anandi Premlall Avatar
    Anandi Premlall

    I’m donating blood & working on my business plan for a new community-based non-profit

  35. Generosity Day | Sasha Dichter's Blog

    […] Dichter's Blog Skip to content HomeAbout Sasha ← Rebooting Valentine’s Day February 14, 2011 · 1:03 am ↓ Jump to […]

  36. anjelika Avatar
    anjelika

    this is great! thanks sasha for starting this movement. i will also try to continue this beyond 2/14!

  37. Syed khyrat Hussain Avatar
    Syed khyrat Hussain

    Beautiful artical. Read an informative artical on following link please.
    http://bloggerstown.com/2011/02/14/valentines-day/#

  38. Candace Avatar
    Candace

    http://www.spinalcordinjury-paralysis.org/heartandnerve/2011/02/14/the-first-generosity-day-
    Here’s my blog about Generosity Day, thanks for the idea 🙂

  39. Today is Generosity Day | Exponential Fundraising

    […] the word about Sasha Dichter’s great idea. He’s rebranding Valentine’s Day “Generosity Day.”  As he […]

  40. Valentine’s Day for Nonprofits Social Media Style

    […] few days ago Sasha Dichter was on a panel with Katya Andresen from Network for Good.  Sasha did a talk about his month-long […]

  41. Aex Goldmark Avatar
    Aex Goldmark

    Very smart, and very Buddhist. I’m late to the party, but you can add, the most basic act of generosity: offer to help others those around you (in a way that doesn’t imply you think they are failing).

    I know a person who leaves the house every day with one dollar in his breast pocket every day and gives it to the first person who asks him for money.

  42. Abraham Simons Avatar
    Abraham Simons

    Hi Sasha,
    Thanks a lot for the wonderful article. I know how important is generosity in these times of WIFM culture (Whats in it for me). Apart from what is mentioned above, I strongly believe that one should give TIME and TALENT.
    This post is my facebook status for the week

    Regards
    Abraham Simons.

  43. What are you doing for Generosity Day? | scHammond Advisors

    […] Dichter has suggested renaming Valentine’s Day Generosity Day.  Saul Kaplan of the Business Innovation Factory recently blogged about Daring to be Great.  The […]

  44. sarah jane sowden Avatar
    sarah jane sowden

    I <3 this idea too….it maybe 3.20pm on my valentines day but I'm switching it and will be encouraging others to do the same…..thank you for making my valentines day with your generosity of ideas x

  45. Happy Generosity Day! « The Philanthropic Family

    […] Sasha’s entire post, including suggestions for how to be generous today, can be found here. […]

  46. Generosity Day – Will Move Your Nonprofit Marketing Forward | Nonprofit Marketing | Getting Attention

    […] and changing our mindset on what that is, and simply practicing it. Creative thinker Sasha Dichter calls on each one of us to take these steps […]

  47. Free Newsletter Audits for Generosity Day | Low Hanging Fruit Communications

    […] the blog of Generosity Day fonder, Sasha Dichter: I want all my readers to hear first.  This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be rebooted as […]

  48. Frank Buddenbrock Avatar
    Frank Buddenbrock

    Sasha-
    Great idea. I think we should be generous whenever we can. There must be a limit, don’t you think? If 10 people all asked you for $1,000 today, would you give them what they asked? I believe that generosity should be a life-long practice, though I applaud your effort here to bring it to light. I guess we gotta start somewhere, and here is as good as place as any.

  49. Happy Generosity Day! | Philanthropy

    […] Sasha’s entire post, including suggestions for how to be generous today, can be found here. […]

  50. Dia de São Valentim

    […] de São Valentim olhem para mim! Inspirado por um blog post do Sasha Dichter estou a escrever este post, com um único […]

  51. Rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day – TIME Healthland

    […] at fighting global poverty using business tools, suggested Generosity Day on his blog on Friday, writing: This Monday, Valentine's Day, is going to be rebooted as Generosity Day: one day of sharing love […]

  52. Random Acts of Kindness Week | Generosity Day 2011

    […] is Generosity Day, you ask? Generosity Day is an experiment to “Reboot Valentine’s Day for Good” (pretty much love music to our ears when we heard the […]

  53. Luciano Tourn » Generosity Day

    […] la gran movida comercial que se genera en torno al día. Si sos uno de ellos, te propongo seguir la propuesta de Sasha Dicher, director de la ONG Acumen Fund: This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be […]

  54. lamiki » Blog Archive » Show, Don’t Tell: How do you show success?

    […] you celebrate Single Awareness Day, Love Safely Day, or a new one this year, Generosity Day, it’s still February 14th in my book. In my world, Valentine’s Day represents the first time […]

  55. This Valentine’s Day, say yes to Generosity Day | green LA girl

    […] Tired of the “Valentine’s Day is a horrible example of capitalistic materialism and consumer excess” arguments — and want to do something positive on this day of love? Then try rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day. […]

  56. Show the World Some Love « Investing In Communities

    […] of this blog for goodness sake! So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we’re embracing Generosity Day with open […]

  57. Generosity Day Reboots a Traditional Valentine’s | Help-Portrait | 03 Dec 2011

    […] that fight poverty in the developing world, posted a blog entry that challenged people to turn Valentine’s Day into an opportunity for greater […]

  58. Classic Puppy Love

    […] Reboot Valentine’s Day into Generosity Day {via Sasha Dicher’s Blog} […]

  59. Jan Avatar
    Jan

    Splendid positive thinking, Sarah,
    Great idea… hopefully it will grow out to an all-time-feeling for everyone and becomes normal behaviour…

  60. Gigi Avatar
    Gigi

    By your inspiration I gave my full attention to everyone I encountered…. 🙂

  61. Reboot Valentine’s Day; Generosity Day « Eevia.net

    […] something that I just found in my twitterstream today. Someone named Sasha Dichter wrote a small blog post about rebooting Valentine's Day as Generosity Day and I'd say that it's quite an awesome idea. […]

  62. anediblewoman Avatar
    anediblewoman

    I am so in. I am going to model for a figure study class at college and donate the money to Operation Smile.

  63. Stuff #Socent People Like « ThinkChange Pakistan

    […] Dichter (Director of Business Development, Acumen Fund) proposed rebooting Valentine’s Day to make Generosity Day. His suggestion resulted in blog posts and over 3000#generosityday […]

  64. for immediate release

    […] A philanthropist at the Acumen Fund, Sasha hatched an experiment to reboot Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day: “saying yes to everything that’s asked of you, all day long”. Compare how he […]

  65. New initiative coming up… | imagine there is no…

    […] This Initiative is based on a partnership that lasted over two years now. It is small, it is a starting point. It is strongly linked to what I believe in. It is very much related to the many conversations we had here. It involves generosity, not a surprise it comes just after the “generosity day.” […]

  66. Three fellows on the climb…and back | imagine there is no…

    […] by the principles of the Generosity Day proposed by Sasha Dichter, we decided to couple our efforts to address poverty using market approaches with supporting […]

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  68. On my birthday and the Thanksgiving Challenge « Learnings and Lovings

    […] took this experiment and turned it into “Generosity Day” – which happened for the first time on Valentine’s Day of this year. People were asked to say […]

  69. Random Acts of Blankets « Try It You Might Like It

    […] disappointment if the right sentiment isn’t conveyed by the right people in their lives. But Generosity Day I can totally get behind. Generosity for it’s own sake is so satisfying and I make it a rule […]

  70. One day to go – nothing to lose | Sasha Dichter's Blog

    […] realizing what a tricky thing expectation is.  Last year, when I was hesitating about writing that first (outlandish, crazy) blog post announcing that we wanted to turn Valentine’s Day into Ge…, a friend pushed me over the edge by saying, “Go for it!  The worst thing that happens is […]

  71. Happy Generosity Day! | Care2 Causes

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  73. Generosity Day a Rebooting of Valentine’s | From DeHart

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    […] In 2011 Sasha Dicher of Acumen Fund announced that February 14th, Valentine’s day, was going to be taken back in the name of generosity. He wrote in his blog. […]

  78. The New Dream Blog

    […] He realized that he had always been hiding behind doing what was smart (writing a check to a homeless shelter, for example, rather than giving money out on the street) than what was right. He also realized that saying “yes” requires repetition and practice. And, as Sasha practiced saying yes every day, he began to feel like a generous person. A couple of years later, Sasha mentioned his generosity experiment to a fellow panelist at Social Media week in 2011, and Generosity Day was born. Sasha wrote the following on his blog: […]

  79. A new take on Valentine’s Day | The Silver Lining Chronicles

    […] idea (as wellas the suggestions above) are to be credited to Sasha Dichter who is the chief officer of innovation at the Acumen Fund. She was struck with the realization of […]

  80. Generosity Day a Rebooting of Valentine’s | Mike DeHart | Social Entrepreneur

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  81. Show the World Some Love

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  82. Make February 14th Generosity Day — GlobalGiving Blog – News and Updates

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  83. Generosity Day! | Haeloxspace

    […] let’s help reboot Monday as Generosity Day (the brainchild of Sasha Dichter)!   Examples of great things to do on […]

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