PHILANTHROPY

          Philanthropy means giving and sharing of your time, talents or treasures for the common good. It means investing your extra time, your talents – whatever they are (e.g. playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing, painting, or being a good friend, kind or patient, etc.), and your money or belongings for the good of everyone. Philanthropy is a private citizen action for the common good when you give whatever you can in order to help people in the community and, at the same time, you expect nothing in return for your action. It means being unselfish, caring and appreciative of others.

Philanthropy 'etymologically means "love of humanity" in the sense of caring, nourishing, developing and enhancing "what it is to be human" on both the benefactors' (by identifying and exercising their values in giving and volunteering) and beneficiaries' (by benefiting) parts. The most conventional modern definition is "private initiatives, for public good, focusing on quality of life"(on Wikipedia). Philanthropy 'can be broadly defined as love for humankind. It is derived from the Greek words "philos," which means loving and "anthropos," which means humankind' (C. Zimmer on Learningtogive.org). 

A philanthropist is someone who practices philanthropy.

To learn more about the National Philanthropy Day follow this link.

          There are many different forms of philanthropy and a seemingly infinite amount of ways you can demonstrate it. When people think of philanthropy, the most common association they have is donating to a charity or some other non-profit organization that helps people. However, you can practice philanthropy in more ways than that. You can do anything that contributes to the common good (e.g. participating in an organization for homeless or needy people, doing  any form of community service that helps people somehow, volunteering, etc.).There is a large variety of ways you can practice philanthropy in your everyday life. Philanthropy is very important as it improves your character if you know that you can make a difference in people's lives and give them hope and happiness. Philanthropy is not just a good thing to do, it is a virtue of generous people who care about others and the common good.

For our class discussion, think about philanthropy and what it means to you. Do you consider yourself to be a philanthropist? Can you think of something you are capable of doing to help others? Can you identify a list of qualities/characteristics that define a philanthropist? Can you identify local citizens who are contributing to the common good? Can you identify and portray a local philanthropist in your family, neighbourhood, class, etc.? You can use this table (The Philanthropists in My Life) to help you organize your thoughts. Read Aesop's fable 'The Lion and the Mouse' about a character who made a difference by practicing philanthropy although he was small, meek and not so powerful. What lesson(s) does it teach you? Share your thoughts and ideas with your classmates on our class blog.