MNN - Mother Nature Network

I try to avoid the sidebar advertisements on my Facebook page because there is usually an advertisement for some fabulous pair of boots that I need to avoid seeing. Today, I happened to glance at the sidebar and saw an advertisement that asked “Like Wine?” (To which my mind answered, “Duh, Of course!”)

 

It also said, “Click to play Every Cork Counts. Your participation will help to support Meals on Wheels.” I remembered that today is a new holiday called Giving Tuesday, which according to MNN’s family blogger Jenn is “a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations."

 

So I had a brilliant idea. I could play the Gallo Family Vineyards’ Every Cork Counts Facebook Game to do my part for Giving Tuesday. I know it sounds like I’m cheating, letting some other organization do the financial donation for me. But my family does choose several organizations to give to during the holidays. Today just doesn’t happen to be one of the days I’m writing a check or putting gifts under the town wish tree.

 

Here’s how the game works: of course, you need to give Facebook the permission to install an app so you can play. Once that’s done, you click on a spinner to find out how many chances you get to play the game. Once you get your number of chances, there a wine bottle and a wine glass (or a wine barrel). You position the wine bottle so that a cork shot out of it can land in the glass or barrel. If you make it, 10 cents gets donated to Meals on Wheels, a worthy organization that helps feed hungry senior citizens. I donated 50 cents today. Facebook users can play the game once daily to keep adding to their donation amount.

 

In addition to playing the Facebook game, Gallo wine drinkers can send their wine corks back to Gallo and Gallo will donate $5 to for each cork received to Meals on Wheels. Packages must be post marked by Dec. 31, 2012.

 

The game is a little silly, but it’s a nice break of a couple minutes if you work at your computer all day. And, if you do it today, you can honestly say you’ve participated in Giving Tuesday.