Shopping malls and neighborhoods are getting ready to put up Christmas lights and lawn decorations, and this can only mean one thing - ’tis the season to wear Ugly Christmas Sweaters.

In light of the holidays coming up, an organization called National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day puts a charitable spin on your favorite fashion statement: Wear a sweater, donate money and save children in need.

This year, National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day has partnered with Save The Children, an organization that runs a campaign called Ugly Christmas Jumper Day in the United Kingdom. By encouraging all participants to donate at least five dollars when they don a sweater, the National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day organization is helping to raise money for Save the Children right here in the U.S.

"This year, [Save the Children] contacted us because they realized we already have a day that we started, and they asked us if we could partner with them for their 'Make The World Better with A Sweater' campaign,” says Brent Foreman, a representative of the foundation. “It’s a great initiative to help children in need around the world."

So what's the big idea? A massive group of people donning their infamous ugly Christmas sweaters all on the same day is bound to draw attention, and it will have people asking why. The organization hopes that natural curiosity will encourage people to find out more about the event and the organization, and ultimately lend a hand to the cause.

Whether it’s a day at the office or a night class at school, the organization encourages you to wear your favorite ugly Christmas sweater for an entire day - no excuses. It’s celebrated on the second Friday of December each year, and this year, the event falls on Dec. 12th. 

If you want to get involved, here are a couple of tips provided by the organization's website:

1. Buy an ugly Christmas sweater, if you don't already have one. The website gives a list of their preferred vendors.

2. Wear your sweater for the entire day.

3. Share this day with your friends. Every year, tens of thousands of people participate. 

Explaining the origins of National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, Foreman says “National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day was started a few years back by us, a few ugly Christmas sweater lovers. We decided we wanted to have a fun day during the month of December to promote the fun holiday spirit and show off our ugly Christmas sweaters we’ve gathered throughout the years."

Now, after such humble beginnings, Foreman's beloved and fun-loving organization is trying to make a mark on the philanthropic world, and make a difference in a child's life. Foreman states that 89.4% of every dollar goes towards children in need.

Currently, Save The Children’s biggest campaign is fighting Ebola, and they are helping children by sending ambassadors to families in Africa who have lost parents, or have otherwise been affected by Ebola.

Another initiative that the organization is working on is the Border Crisis, an unfortunate situation in which children who cross the U.S. Border do not have enough resources to get them to safety.

Moreover, the website of Save The Children states that the U.S. government is matching the initiative with a grant program. For every dollar donated, the government will give four times that amount.

“This is just a one day event for a unique way to boost donations and raise awareness for children in need,” says Foreman. “If you are wearing an ugly Christmas sweater and your whole work does, people are going to ask why, and then you explain how you donated and helped out and it encourages people to join in.”

So, fans of ugly Christmas sweaters, mark your calendars for Dec.r 12; pull out your favorite sweater, wear it, donate and encourage people to do the same so we can help children in need this Christmas. 

This story is part of Culture For Change, a month-long Arts and Culture exploration of cultural activism in L.A. For the other stories in the collection, click here.

Reach Staff Contributor Beatrice Verhoeven here and follow her on Twitter here.