Giving Back

The holidays are a great time to give back.  Even better, it is a perfect opportunity to teach this lesson to your children.

The other day my son found some toys in my office.  Being three, he immediately tried to open them, assuming they were for him.  I tried to explain to him that these toys were for boys and girls who don't get presents.  He of course said, "I don't have any presents."

Ok, so he didn't get that lesson, but we will keep trying.

In honor of Max and his love of toys, here are some toy drives that you can contribute to:

• Toys for Tots
• Operation E.L.F. thu the Connecticut National Guard
• Coalition for the Homeless
• Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

These are just the tip of the iceberg.  The big name toy drives are really easy to find and they make donating so simple.  But I also really like the small toy drives right in your town.  

No child should go without and a small toy can make such a difference.  We hope you will join us in donating this holiday season!

Philanthropy Defined

Philanthropy is defined as the altruistic concern for 
human welfare and advancement, usually manifested  by donations of money,property, or work  to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.

This can be an intimidating definition. In order to explain it better, we have broken it down into two categories; giving and volunteering.

The definition that dictionary.com provide seems to be clear cut; the problem is that philanthropy covers so many areas, that one sentence is not enough. There are many aspects to philanthropy. One of the two categories mentioned above is giving. Giving in itself holds different meanings. Are you the one giving? Are you the one receiving? Does the giver have good intent? All of these questions are standards that philanthropists ask.

We also mentioned volunteering. In a way, volunteering can fall under giving as your are giving time, but volunteering allows the giver to have a closer connection to those receiving. And again, those questions are asked; what was the volunteer's intent? were they looking to look good? 

The bottom line is that philanthropy has not true definition. Defining philanthropy is like defining beauty; it is in the eye of the beholder. So give it a shot; what does philanthropy mean to YOU?