Hit Me Up ... With a High Five!

Move over handshake, today is all about a much cooler way of greeting people: the high five.

That's right, April 17 is National High Five Day. The Post Office and banks may not be closed in celebration of this holiday, but it's part of a growing grassroots movement that is all about spreading positive vibes and raising funds to fight cancer. And it's not just about this one day.

National High Five Day — or NH5D as it is known — was started in 2002 at the University of Virginia when a group of students set up shop on the main quad of the campus and gave out high-fives and lemonade.

In 2010, according to the NH5D website, the founders of National High Five Day decided to direct all the good-will from National High Five Day towards doing real and tangible good. 

And here's how that has played out, according to the organization:

• 2012 saw the Inaugural National High-5-A-Thon For Cancer Research. Based on the model of a fun run or a dance-a-thon, almost 200 participants from 42 states gave high-fives all day on National High Five Day and raised more than $16,000 for five cutting-edge cancer research centers. 
• In 2013, because of the tragic events at the Boston Marathon, National High Five Project (NH5P) partnered with Boston-area mental health and physical therapy service providers to raise money for free services for victims of the bombings.
• In 2014, NH5P is raising money again for our five cancer research center partners nationwide.