Go Get Your Gift Cards, Memphians. Today is National Use Your Gift Card Day.

Are you one of those people who holds onto gift cards? Well, Memphians, today’s your day! Saturday, January 18, is National Use Your Gift Card Day.

According to UseYourGiftCard.com, Americans left $3 billion dollars unspent last year. The site is sponsoring the first annual National Use Your Gift Card Day to remind Americans to use their gift cards.

Tracy Tilson, the founder of the UseYourGiftCard.com and National Use Your Gift Card Day, said she started the site after finding some long-lost gift cards.

“The Use Your Gift Card platform began with an ‘ah-ha’ moment,” she said. “I was going through an old wallet and found several gift cards that I had received over the last few holidays and simply forgotten about. On top of that, I discovered gift cards that my sons had been given and ended up buried in desk drawers…all adding up to lots and lots of unspent dollars! I realized that if I’d forgotten mine, certainly many other people were forgetting to use their gift cards, too. I started thinking about reminders: how to remember to use these valuable gifts that friends and family spent their time and money to give! I decided to create National Use Your Gift Card Day, and build UseYourGiftCard.com with the intention of reminding everyone to Use Your Gift Card!”

Tilson decided that every third Saturday in January would be National Use Your Gift Card Day to encourage people to use their gift cards either at a store or shop online before they are lost or forgotten.

Donate Your Cards

Do you have some gift cards that you will never use? Just donate them to a worthy cause like Kars4Kids. Kars4Kids accepts unused gift cards to benefit children. According to the website, “chances are good you have a gift card or two you’ll never use sitting in a drawer, collecting dust. We’ll turn your unused gift cards into a tax deduction for you and a brighter future for a child.”

If you have some used cards with low balances left over, send them to GiftCards4Change. According to the charity’s website, children benefit from the unused gift card balances: “We have experienced the impact that remaining balance gift cards have on individuals and communities in need. Our mission is to collect what is commonly undervalued (low balance gift cards) for the under-served, and build on our efforts to change the way people value their small balance gift cards.”

Dig out those gift cards and use them for yourself or for your community! For more stories on the economy, visit our Business page.

You might also be interested in: Future of Community Development in Memphis | BLDG Memphis Board