Philanthropy a Step Towards Mankind
The theoretical definition of philanthropy argues that it is an act of giving that is always productive and satisfying. Philanthropy with its anthro root literally means ‘ love for mankind ‘ therefore philanthropy in the dictionary means donating money and goods for a purpose of benefiting people or causes who you don’t know personally.
Philanthropy and charity are often confused as the same, but they are very different as the thought behind the action is the same, but the effect is a bit different. Charity is done for immediate relief to people and causes and is driven by emotions. Whereas philanthropy is focused on addressing the root cause, helping people, and solving their problems over the long term.
Philanthropic people show selfless concern for the welfare of others and venture to alleviate their struggles for others without seeking anything for their personal benefit. Philanthropic acts are done without any expectations of returns or recognition. It is important because it provides opportunities. It supports projects and endeavors which may be unpopular or controversial to gain the widespread support of the public or the government. For this reason, philanthropy is very important for a democratic society. It seeks to solve social problems by donating to charitable organizations and lending them support to worthy causes by providing financial aid and advocacy.
Philanthropy is a two-way street where not only the person benefitting from it is at an advantage but the person enabling the philanthropic act benefits too-
- It gives a big boost towards the feeling of well-being on both emotional and physical levels
- Participating in giving activities teaches our children valuable life skills such as goal setting, money management, and project planning
- It also instills empathy and builds emotional intelligence
- Generosity is scientifically proven to improve life quality and longevity
I can best describe and attest to the beneficial aspect of philanthropy from my own life experience.
When my son Akash turned one, we decided to throw a birthday party to mark the occasion. We created a comprehensive guest list, comprising of dear friends and local relatives. We prepared for the celebration meticulously and with great enthusiasm. The party started with great cheer and festivities, but as it progressed our little son started to feel flustered with too many people around. He needed his parents to tend to him and give him undivided attention. By the middle of the party, he became extremely cranky and could barely cut the cake. He finally fell asleep after fussing for an hour as we still attended to our guests.
As we wound up the party and saw the amount of leftover food, and a tired toddler in our arms, we realized that the party was probably not the best idea. But we were first-time parents and learned a valuable lesson.
We did not forget that lesson, when our daughter, Ditya turned one. We decided that we will not repeat the same mistake. But we needed to celebrate her first birthday with something memorable. After a lot of thinking, I zeroed down on a few ideas and discussed them with my husband and we finalized one. We decided to commemorate our sweet daughter’s birthday in an empathetic and useful way. After a small prayer ceremony at home, the four of us headed to a girls’ orphanage. That was our birthday celebration venue! It was a normal party with a birthday cake, candles, games, dance, and tasty food and gifts for the girls. Our guests were people who seemed happy and appreciative of a day of fun. Moreover, Ditya, the birthday girl, seemed happiest surrounded by little and big girls. She had recently started to walk, and it was a joy to see her waddle a dance with the young girls and give a toothy grin to each one of them. True that she would not remember that day, but at that moment, she was filled with joy. The awkward steps with which she danced around and around would always stay in our minds. We spent sufficient time there until Akash and Ditya were so tired from dancing and playing that they started to doze off. The gratification that we felt from the smiles on the faces of those young girls, after having stomachs full of tasty meals receiving gifts was incomparable to any other feeling. The name of the feeling was contentment.
With the dancing steps of our little children, we stepped into a new realm of philanthropy and realized how we need to sow this seed in our kids’ hearts. I genuinely believe that kindness and helpfulness is the key to peaceful living. My hope is that my children would be caring towards those who need it but without feeling privileged or contemptuous. I also hope that this instills gratitude in their minds for what they have and their good fortune. The act and value of philanthropy is best taught by action. We have made a regular habit of commemorating different events with those like the girls in the orphanage. After every such event, a feeling of contentment sweeps over all of us.
