GivingTuesday 2019: Floridians Show Generosity

MIAMI, FL — Tuesday was GivingTuesday around the United States and Floridians once again opened their wallets for their favorite causes.

"GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good," according to the GivingTuesday website. "Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity."

Florida, which has a large population of retirees on fixed incomes, was ranked as the 37th most charitable state in the country in a new study released Tuesday by personal finance website WalletHub. The website said the United States overall is considered to be the most generous country over the past 10 years by the World Giving Index.

"Florida's low ranking is mostly due to the fact that it has the lowest volunteer rate in the country — less than 23 percent, and the third smallest number of volunteer hours per capita," WalletHub Analyst Jill Gonzalez told Patch.

"There are also other reasons for the state being the 14th less charitable. These include the low share of population fundraising or selling items to raise money, the small number of public charities and food banks per capita, and ... the small percentage of sheltered homeless," she said.

Caleb and Calder Sloan's Awesome Foundation is a local Florida charity based in Miami that was started to honor the memory of 7-year-old Calder Jacob Sloan, who was electrocuted five years ago when a light malfunctioned in his family’s swimming pool.

"The accident devastated the Sloans, who had called their oldest son 'Mr. Awesome' for his sheer love of life and desire to make a difference in his world," according to organizers. "Suddenly, they were thrust in the horrible position of choosing between succumbing to sadness and loss or doing something fitting to carry on in Calder’s honor."

Parents Chris and Carla Sloan got a boost from celebrity supporters like former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh. Now the charity focuses on issues related to child advocacy, children’s social issues and water safety.

"With the goal of allowing Calder’s brother some day run it, they called their non-profit Caleb and Calder Sloan’s Awesome Foundation," a spokesperson for the group told Patch. The charity has already succeeded in changing pool safety codes in the state of Florida; raised awareness to the dangers of electrical wiring in pools and homes; transformed and beautified three inner-city schools with Annual Awesome Give Back Days; generated lunches and school supplies for underprivileged children; supported Parkland High School students in the wake of the deadly tragedy; and teamed with Operation Puerto Rico Gift Lift and Care Lift to provide more than $500,000 worth of aid and toys to the people of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

With so many charities in Florida, it can be difficult to find one to support unless you already have a favorite in mind.

Patch compiled the following list of 100 charities around Miami that received the greatest number of donations — not the most dollars — during The Miami Foundation's recent Give Miami Day: