‘Tis the season for giving back.
Entering its fifth year on November 29, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving powered by social media and online collaboration. The campaign focuses on giving back to those less fortunate during the holiday season, in the wake of the world’s largest and most hectic spending spree—Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson is urging the movement forward, and encouraging people to give back however they can, whether big or small. “I think that you can give back in many different ways,” she said. “With the holiday season, it’s important for people to feel loved and cared for.”
Parade.com chatted with Benson on why she likes to give back, her #GivingTuesday initiatives, and what’s next for her following Pretty Little Liars’ seventh and final season.
We’ve all heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but what exactly is #GivingTuesday?
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving, and it’s a really cool reminder of the reason for the season. For the last five years, PayPal has been supporting giving Tuesday, and they actually match all their donations by one percent. It ensures that 101% of your gift goes to charity, which is really amazing.
How are you giving back for #GivingTuesday?
I started a GoFundMe page with a charity that I’m heavily involved with called Wags and Walks. It’s a dog rescue and I’m a very big dog person and huge animal lover. So, I’ve been putting that word out there. Also, personally I love going to children’s hospitals, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Every year around this time I usually spend at least two days at a children’s hospital and spend hours and hours just with the kids. I visit them, read to them, watch movies with them and we sing together, and that’s really satisfying. Especially if you don’t have the funds to donate, sharing your time is just as important.
Why do you like to give back to the community?
I think it’s important to always give your time, especially with me having a platform like I do. It’s cool to show people that giving back is such an important part of life. You can have everything and not be satisfied, and giving time, donating to charities…. it’s super important to show people that that’s really what life is about—helping people. The reason I do it is it’s so satisfying. My job is amazing, but if I can make someone smile and make their day, that’s really important to me.
What are some steps that we can take to make this #GivingTuesday the biggest one yet?
Just get involved! Find a charity that you love, donate. If you’re not able to give money to a charity, just helping out, giving people food on the streets, going to senior homes, spending time with people [are ways you can make a difference]. Being there in person and making someone smile is what really matters.
Pretty Little Liars is set to end after its seventh season, premiering in April 2017. How has it been filming those final episodes?
It was pretty crazy. There were a lot of mixed emotions. It was really fun to finally know that after seven years, the show is coming to an end. The people that I work with are like family—the cast, the writers, the crew. They’re truly amazing and they’ve been with me since day one. That was the hardest part about the show coming to an end—knowing that I’m not going to see them every day. But, it’s exciting and we came up with an amazing season. The finale is going to be pretty awesome, so I’m really excited for the fans to see that.
What’s next for you?
I just moved to New York, so that was a big change for me. I really want to get into film. I haven’t had a lot of time to do that with the show’s schedule, so that’s one thing that I want to do. I’m taking time off and finding the right project, and diving into that world [of film] a little bit.
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