If Black Friday is for deals and Cyber Monday is for clicking “add to cart” without thinking too hard, Giving Tuesday is our annual reminder to do something that actually warms the heart instead of just warming the credit card chip. And this year, Lakeview East businesses are stepping up in a major, very us way. We’re talking charity, creativity, cookies, chairs turned into art (yes, really), and a whole lot of local love.
Here’s where your dollars, your appetite, and your scrolling thumb can make a difference today.

Foursided: Give Gifts, Give Back, Feel Like a Holiday Hero

Foursided came in hot this Giving Tuesday with 15 percent of all sales today, in-store and online, going directly to Nourishing Hope. So you can shop for quirky cards, ornaments, and the world’s most delightful knickknacks and help feed Chicagoans at the same time. If you’ve never shopped for a candle and thought, “Wow, I just helped provide part of 4.5 million meals,” today is your moment.

19th District Mutual Aid: North Side Neighbors Showing Up, Big Time

The 19th District Mutual Aid Network is exactly what it sounds like — neighbors helping neighbors. This all-volunteer group provides material support, legal help, rental assistance, and thousands of welcome kits to migrant families and unhoused Chicagoans across the North Side. They move families into housing, host free legal clinics, pack essentials multiple times a week, and jump in wherever gaps appear.

If you want your Giving Tuesday dollars to go straight into groceries, housing, and real community care, this is one of the most direct ways to help.

Learn more or support their work here

Dignity Diner: Where a Hot Meal Comes with Humanity

Every Tuesday evening, Dignity Diner serves dinner to our neighbors who need it most. No fuss, no forms, no judgment — just a warm, sit-down meal served with dignity (hence the name). This Giving Tuesday, consider tossing a few dollars their way. It’s hyperlocal kindness that makes a tangible difference. Your donation keeps the table set.

More info: https://dignitydiner.org/

Sit Stay Read: Dogs + Literacy = Honestly, Peak Wholesomeness

If you’ve ever wished your childhood reading assignments came with a cuddle break, Sit Stay Read is doing the Lord’s work. Trained therapy dogs help kids build literacy skills by turning reading time into wag-filled encouragement sessions. You donate, kids read, dogs get pets. This is the kind of closed-loop happiness the world needs more of.

Learn more: https://www.sitstayread.org/

AIDS Garden Chicago: A Living Tribute that Needs Community Support

Overlooking the lakefront, AIDS Garden Chicago is both a memorial and a celebration of life, resilience, and history. Your donation helps maintain this stunning public space and supports programs that honor Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community. If you want your Giving Tuesday impact to be both beautiful and meaningful, this is the spot.

Learn more: https://www.aidsgardenchicago.org/

The Chairity Project by 2d World: This One’s for the “Wait, They Turned What Into Art?” Crowd

Just when you think Chicago has run out of ways to surprise you, 2d World from our local favorite 2D Restaurant on Halsted rolls into The Shops at North Bridge with The Chairity Project, which is exactly what it sounds like: ten local artists transforming black-and-white 2d chairs into custom works of art. Yes, the chairs you sit on. Yes, they somehow make it look chic. It’s part of 2d World’s Sweet Giving Program, and it’s the kind of creative-chaos-meets-community-love that Chicago excels at.

How it works:

• Now through December 10: Artists create their chair masterpieces live inside the 2d Holiday Experience.

• Throughout the season: These chairs become part of a public exhibition expected to draw thousands of visitors each week.

• Mid–Late January: The chairs go up for auction. Each artist gets to choose which nonprofit benefits from their chair’s winning bid. Proceeds support organizations like:

  • Greater Chicago Food Depository

  • NPTO

  • Embarc

  • Japanese Art Foundation

  • PAWS Chicago

  • And each artist’s charity of choice

This project is all about joy, storytelling, and giving back in the most creative way possible. It’s giving holiday spirit. It’s giving community. It’s giving… chair. (We had to.)

Third Space: The Cozy Community Living Room Everyone Secretly Wishes They Had

If you’ve ever dreamed of a place that feels like your friend’s super-inviting living room — but with more snacks, more neighbors, and zero pressure to buy anything — Third Space has entered the chat.

This volunteer-powered community hub brings people together through shared meals, low-key gatherings, and programming designed to boost physical, emotional, and social well-being. Think: Lunch Bunch, community events, and simple everyday moments that make a neighborhood feel like a neighborhood.

Third Space is all about connection across identities, ages, and backgrounds. No barriers, no pretension — just a “pull up a chair and belong here” vibe that hits especially well on Giving Tuesday.

Learn more: https://www.third-space.org/

Chicago Furniture Bank: Furnishing Homes for the Holidays (Ugly Sweater Edition)

The Chicago Furniture Bank has one of the most joyful fundraisers of the week: Furnishing Homes for the Holidays, happening Friday, December 5 from 8–10 PM at The River Kitchen & Bar. Dust off your ugliest holiday sweater, yes, the one you’re afraid to wear in front of relatives, and help CFB provide furniture and home essentials to families transitioning out of homelessness.

Cozy vibes + doing good + truly atrocious knitwear? Consider us in.

Center on Halsted: Double Your Gift, Double Your Impact

Center on Halsted is going big this year: thanks to a generous donor, all new and increased gifts will be matched 1:1 up to $50,000. That means your $25 becomes $50. Your $50 becomes $100. Your $100 becomes “oh wow, I just made a real dent in community programming for LGBTQ+ Chicagoans.”

It’s the best BOGO of the season.

Donate here: centeronhalsted.org/donate

Nourishing Hope: Powering Meals, Community, and a Whole Lot of Hope

Chicago’s beloved food pantry and social services organization is everywhere today, and for good reason. Nourishing Hope supports thousands of neighbors with not just groceries but wrap-around services that help families thrive long after Giving Tuesday ends. If you want your donation to go straight into real impact, you cannot go wrong here. Every dollar stretches farther than you’d expect. They’re basically the Costco of compassion.

Learn more: https://www.nourishinghopechi.org/