Raising Philanthropists (Celebrating National Philanthropy Day)
A few months ago I started working at the Red Deer & District Community Foundation. Until that time, the word ‘philanthropy’ was not an everyday word in our home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying philanthropic acts weren’t everyday behaviours in our home, but the word itself wasn’t regularly rolling off my tongue.
Shortly after I began working at the Foundation, my boss sent a program my way saying she wanted to begin implementing it as soon as we could get the wheels turning. The program was called Youth in Philanthropy – an easily adaptable program giving students the opportunity to seek out charitable needs within their community and then, as a committee, determine how to make the most impact with their monetary contribution.
I felt as though I had hit the workplace jackpot. Speaking candidly, this program is gold.
Thankfully, the principal at St. Francis of Assisi Middle School, Gary Gylander, recognized the same value. It wasn’t long before I was in the doors of the school and speaking to a group of fresh-faced grade nine students about a word I had hardly used for most of my life.