An Unexpected Opportunity

Setting the Scene:
      A guest speaker cheerily walks into the classroom to tell us about a program we will be participating in called Main Street Philanthropy. He energetically explains to us that for the next eight weeks we will be learning about philanthropy and eventually donate money we raise to a few charities that we all agree on. While most guest speakers and eight week programs might not sound that exciting, I was intrigued because not only is this a chance to learn more about philanthropy and a chance to give to people in need, it is also a chance to learn a little bit more about myself and what I can do to help.

Activity One: Get MAD
     To kick-start this philanthropic journey, we must choose from a set of MAD(Make A Difference) cards that represent "areas of concern" in the world. Sounds easy, just pick the things in the world that you want to fix the most. Narrow that list down to three, maybe it's not as easy as it looks. I found myself thinking hard about which topics were linked to things I was most passionate about, the things that I most cared about in my life. I came up with children and youth services, animal care, and arts and culture. I was a little bit surprised at how my choices were directly linked to the activities in my life, involvement in my high school's theatre arts department and a small animal rescue chiefly among them, and my love of children as well. I was also surprised at how closely my choices mirrored my partner's as well, who chose childcare and animal care as well. By the end of this program we may be able to donate money to organizations involved in one of these topics, but I think we have a long way to go before that time. Until then, onwards and upwards on the journey of charity and self-giving!