Why #GivingTuesday Matters

You are so busy. You either just got back to the office from being out for almost a week or you worked while your colleagues were out. Either way, you are now dragging a bit. You are tired and maybe a little grumpy and overwhelmed by your to-do list.

And now here comes #GivingTuesday, the annual day of philanthropy -- observed the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving (today) -- that tells you that you should stop what you are doing and donate to any number of organizations doing work that yes, you care about, but you feel like you have too much going on to give. Someone else will do it. You will think all this, but then you will give.

You will give because you know that no matter how much is going on in your life there are many in this fabulous and wildly diverse LGBT community who suffer every day because of who they are or who they love. Yes. Still.

While we have momentum on our side, our work is far from over. The fight for lived equality continues every day for many of us in our community. Lesbians who can't see their kids, gay youth who are shoved into lockers and tossed down stairs, transgender men who are fired as soon as they come out as trans, and transgender women who are subject to violent assault and even death. All this happens every day and you can't do much about it, but you can give to organizations who will and who are.

And when you give, you will feel a little less tired, a little less grumpy and a bit more at peace because you will know that your support gets us all closer to the day when every LGBT person lives fully and freely. #GivingTuesday reminds us that we are all in this together. "None of us are free until all of us are free." You know that. And so you give to make that freedom possible. Thank you.

KATE KENDELL is the executive director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Learn more about NCLR at www.NCLRights.org.