I’m so #selfie
Last year the #selfie came into it’s own. It was word of the year and even made it to the dictionary. Taking and sharing on social media pictures of ourselves finally became mainstream and we all got cozy and comfortable with our mugs plastered across the interwebs. For many moms, it dovetailed into the “get mom in the picture” moment and for some of us, became part of a feminist drive to capture authentic images of ourselves.

Next-level #selfie is the #Unselfie
Americans are about as generous as people come but conventional wisdom suggests we like to keep that giving to ourselves. So when the #UNselfie idea was kicked off by the team* behind #GivingTuesday last year, I wondered how weird it would feel to post pictures of myself talking about how I give?

At first it felt a little… well… awkward. I worried friends would think I was boasting about what a ‘good’ person I was to give to my favorite charities. I hoped my intentions wouldn’t be misconstrued, but it did make me really pause and think about why I give. Was it for the approval of others? Was it to feel good about myself? Was it because people asked me to? Turns out an overwhelming group of us give simply because people we trust ask us to. That was backed up by a Red Cross study earlier this month on the social media component of giving.

Why do I give?
Yes I give to feel good. But I also truly love the causes I give to. I hand over my hard earned cash as I can, because I believe these groups are doing good work and helping solve problems I can’t solve. So I’m over my discomfort and my fears of bragging. I want all my friends to care about my causes and give to them too!

It’s time to get your #UNselfie on in the lead up to the big day. Why do you give? Who will you be giving your time, money or love to this #GivingTuesday? You choose who; you choose how. All #GivingTuesday asks is that you give in the way that makes sense to you on December 2.

How to #UNselfie​

*disclosure: I am the community manager for #GivingTuesday, but the #UNselfie was not my idea. I wish it had been!

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About the Author

Chrysula Winegar

Chrysula Winegar is a communicator, agitator and mother. Founder of Wake Up World Communications, she has spent twenty years in marketing communications, training and project management based in Sydney, London and New York with companies like Ernst & Young, NatWest UK and Estee Lauder Companies. More recently she has focused on nonprofit work with campaigns like #GivingTuesday, Shot@Life and the Global Mom Relay. She is the Community Manager for the United Nations Foundation's maternal and child health site, the Million Moms Challenge. Chrysula is passionate about social media for social good and was named one of Babble’s “Top 25 Bloggers Who Are Changing the World”.

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