The National Retail Federation reports that gift cards have topped people’s wish lists for the past five years. So, you know you want them, and you know you get them each year.  How many? 2, 3, maybe even 10?

Yet, Consumer Reports also has found from surveying people that 27 percent still had cards they hadn’t used from the previous year! And, half of those people had 2 or 3 left over. Those unused cards totaled 8 billion dollars last year!

There are great needs in our communities and you have the opportunity to help us meet them. I am asking you to give your first gift card to us, so we can give them to people that really need them. Commit to the Gift Card Pledge now.

Take the pledge by following these steps:

• Tell your friends and family you’ve taken the pledge by posting this: “I pledge to give the first gift card I receive this Christmas to @GiftCardGiver” on Facebook and Twitter [#giftcardpledge]
• Share this pledge to your entire community and help us start a giving spirit this Christmas season. Ask them to join us and take the pledge too!
• When opening gifts, set aside your first gift card of the season and drop it in the mail to us at:

Gift Card Giver

PO Box 17920

Atlanta, GA 30316

We hope that this simple pledge will help us all remember that it’s not about what we get, but about being thankful for all that we’ve been given already! Gift Cards collected will do so much to help people in need. Be sure to check back here to our giving stories to see how they’re being used.