With current technology and social media there are more ways than ever to donate time and money. I’ve included a long list of resources for you to scour at the back of the book. But sometimes so much information is overwhelming, and when people get overwhelmed they can shut down. This is why I encourage people to consider small acts of kindness and community service a part of their philanthropy. Again, this is the balance between looking out to the horizon and being aware of the larger systems at play, while having a softer gaze that’s closer to home. You can start with yourself and recognize some of the small differences you can make in your community. Subscribe to a local paper. Attend a school board meeting. Ask a local business owner about their current challenges. Walk your neighborhood and note new developments. Get to know your neighbors. Take a day trip to the next city over and pay attention to the regional differences. Visit a cultural museum and ask the docent why they volunteer there. Pick up trash at the park. Host a block garage sale and donate the proceeds to something that benefits the neighborhood. Ride the bus. Simplify your life by removing one piece of furniture or box of clothes and take one appointment or activity off the calendar. Start a meditation practice. Spend a night sleeping outside. Do something you’ve never done before. Pay attention. And don’t underestimate the power of conversation with the people in your life. So often when we meet
Ever since I can remember, I have had the intense desire to help people. In high school, I joined Kiwanis Key Club and National Honors Society; both organizations allowed me to gain hours of volunteer experience helping families in need within my own community. Both organizations have annual events to benefit our community. At Christmas, Key Club adopts a few families and we buy clothing and toys for the kids. Our efforts to make the holidays a more enjoyable time for the families removed the parents’ burden of having to worry about being able to pay bills after getting presents for their children. Also, National Honors Society holds a blood drive every year in coalition with the American Red Cross. Last year our blood drive was in honor of a little girl in our community with leukemia.
I later realized that I should try to get some of my friends and classmates involved too. l started out my junior year. One thing our teacher tried to teach us was the acts of random kindness. After practicing random acts of kindness throughout the school, I mentioned the idea of volunteering a couple of hours with the Angel Tree. I also encouraged our school’s Student Council to help. The club adopted two angels. By doing so, this gave the students the desire to want to volunteer again the following year. This year, we had Beta club, student council and two dual credit classes, a total of 40-50 students, volunteer at the warehouse for 2 days. Some even came back during Christmas Break and volunteered at the Distribution Day. Not only is it important to lead and serve others, but one should also encourage those around him or her to serve others as
The acts of community service I have participated in FBLA has taught and strengthen my belief that charity is the most important gestures any person can due to have a beneficial impact in the world; is to help a person in need. For instances, our organization has collected Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in the Henry County community each year and the act of giving a child without access to toys for the holidays something as simple as a toy car has brought the greatest
Throughout my life, I’ve always had an immense interest in helping others. Being involved in the National Charity League for 5 years has given me the opportunity to be involved with charities that I otherwise would’ve never known about. I’ve had the privilege to help with over b charities in and around my community throughout my years as an NCL member. By far my favorite would have to be Grace’s Feed Our Kids that I have volunteered at every summer since my start in NCL. Through this charity, we are able to provide lunches and fun games to underprivileged kids in Grapevine during the unbearably hot Texas summer days. Each day we serve different meals, either donated from local restaurants or homemade by my NCL class, and have a variety of things for the kids to do, like coloring, water guns,
Giving families food that are in need is another great way to change the community in how they shop for food. Many families need it especially during the holiday season or just in general. For example, I am in the spanish club organization and we went in January of this year we went to this house where a single mother lived with seven of her kids in an apartment which we did not get to meet but the lady besides her told us. We went to this other house and a guy was blind so the wife worked two jobs with three kids.That made us all reflect on how much more we can do and give back.
In the course of my time at Union County College, I was able to participate in measures that aided my community and those in need. I took part in the donation and creation of care bags which were donated to the Salvation Army. This initiative was made by AESNJ as part of their statewide drive to help those who lack the resources needed to obtain day to day necessities such as hygienic supplies, socks, tissues and other essentials. Additionally, I made a financial contribution which went towards aiding Syrian children. Helping individuals in need encouraged me to participate in Strides against Breast Cancer a walkathon which generated money for women whose lives were impacted by cancer. The financial donations assisted women who were unable
Volunteering has taught me that there are many ways to contribute to the community and as small or large those contributions may be, they all make a difference. Volunteering also allows you to meet new people who share common interests as you and it unites people from diverse backgrounds to work together to give back to the community. Writing book reviews and contributing something so small, can have a great influence. Because I value reading and enjoy it as both a hobby that also has educational benefits, I take pride in knowing I am urging other young people to read and gain as much from it as I have. Taking part in the adopt a shelf program has taught me valuable organizational skills and also assists the library staff in keeping the library an organized and productive environment. By joining the interact club, I have gained a new sense of awareness, respect, and empathy for others in the community. Prior to joining interact, I was not aware of how many people around us are in need, and just how it easy it is to make a difference. By donating a bag of clothing or nonperishable foods to fundraisers, each individual can have significant impact on the lives of others in the community. My personal experiences and involvement in both interact and volunteering have shown me that it is crucial for everyone to give back to the community in order to make a difference, and has urged me to get involved and find more ways in which I can contribute to
Everyone has something to give. What is given can be quantified in many different ways. Some people give ideas. Some people give their loyalty. For others, their effort and hard-work. Few though, are able to give what men like Andrew Carnegie were able to give; hope. That hope, however, came in the form of money. Building wealth is no easy task but giving that wealth away for the benefit of society, is the ultimate good that can be done with it. Carnegie wasn’t the only, or even the first to realize the importance of philanthropy. Johns Hopkins and John Rockefeller were two other very important players throughout American history that were instrumental in improving the society we live in today. With the current climate that Americans find themselves
Anne Frank once said, “no one has ever become poor by giving.” “Giving” incorporates so many things: giving money, giving food, giving clothes, giving gifts, etc. Personally, I see time as the most significant thing one can give to others. Volunteering is, at its core, giving your time to help others. Volunteering has always been a big part of my life; at a younger age I would help the ladies in the cafeteria serve lunch after Sunday school and clean up the main hall afterwards, in high school I was in organizations that presented me with ample opportunities to volunteer, and presently I still manage to volunteer every semester in college.
There must definitely be a change that takes place within Americans, and encourages us to donate. But, until a change takes place within the American government there will be no turn in direction. As Singer points out “ Comfortably off Americans who give, say 10 percent of their income to overseas organizations are so far ahead of most… that I [won’t] chastise them.” (326) In contrast to Singer, 10 percent of any income is enough for a household to donate while being able to attain the luxury
First, I like to donating money to causes I believe in. Even though monetary donations are difficult on a person with a low income or strict budget. There are always causes in my town of Phelan to get involved in. As in any other town, there are a number of disadvantaged homeless people needing help on a daily basis. Mark is one of our local homeless population and whenever we
I enjoyed reading Chapter 11 especially what the author writes on page 281 as it summarizes the importance of a message. It keys on the relevance of accessibility, accountability, education, interaction, and empowerment. I think that is the key element of fundraising. I also believe that from a theory to reality there are some gaps. Nonprofits are often under tremendous pressure to perform with very little resources. Some nonprofits can navigate the process successfully and grow, while others do not.
In Maryland, 75 hours of community service are required for students to graduate. Getting in the way of many after school activities, students should not be required to have community service hours to get a diploma.
In “Effective Altruism” by Peter Singer, Singer talks about how we can take actions that help others as much as possible. This is known as effective altruism. Effective altruism is a social movement that aims to revolutionize the way we live. Effective altruism encourages individuals to make altruism a central part of their lives and do as much good as possible, typically by contributing a fixed percentage of one's income to the world's best performing aid and development organizations. Philosopher Pete Singer for Ted Talks discuss that you can donate at least a tiny percentage of money and still be able to live a normal life. He also references many people who donated by individuals to to the world's poorest people can make a great
In my five years of active volunteer work with multiple non-profit organizations, I have seen firsthand the lack of attendance of my peers in times of great community need and support from its members. Although it has become more complicated to find time to give back to the community, with a full-time school and work schedule, there is always spare time to give back. The rapidly growing demand for volunteers in communities all across America is increasing and it is everyone’s duty, especially college students, to pay their dues to the