Day 212:How are Every Day Heroes the Back Bone of Philanthropy?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT1BB8bPHIs

212 Days ago I started a personal mission. I committed to giving every day for 365 days. I believe you can change the world one give, one day at a time.

On May 4, 2011, I will celebrate World Give Day to bring an awareness to daily giving and highlight its many shapes and forms. Some gives are big, like the donor that gives half his fortune away. Some are considered small, like buying a coffee for the next person in line at your favourite coffee shop. After 212 days of consecutive giving, I know that every “give” counts. Every action of giving creates a ripple effect in one way or another and inspires people to also give. If we all conducted a give every day the world would be a better place to live.

My personal giving journey has connected me to some extraordinary “Every Day Heroes.” These people are doing remarkable things because they are motivated by their passion to give. Whether they realize it or not, they are inspiring other people through their own personal giving actions. These are the individual donors that are the backbone of philanthropy.  It people giving in their lives, donating, volunteering that keep the world of philanthropy going. Quoted by Wikipedia the modern day definition is “”private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life.” It doesn’t day “have to donate $1,000,000 or more” nor does it say you have to be a massive not-for-profit organization helping hundreds or thousands of people. It’s every day people doing every day actions that change the world. Do you know an Every Day Hero? I would love to hear their story please leave a comment, tweet or Facebook.

Day 212: Give 212 Celebrating the Every Day Hero

The 365give Top 5 Every Day Heroes

Chelsea Peters:

Chelsea (originally from Vancouver) is about to move Lira, Uganda. During a recent trip to Uganda, she was touched by the street children. They have been so personally touched by the abandoned and orphaned children in Lira, Chelsea and her partner Morris are starting an organization called the Atin Africa Foundation. Just like that. Through their project they will positively and deeply affect the lives of these children. That is truly world changing.

Calista Cares:

Calista is 11 years old. I’m not even sure where to start with her accomplishments as a volunteer. Last year she was awarded Volunteer of the Year for the Special Olympics of Philadelphia. She has already raised enough money by selling her crafts and homemade lollipops to grant 1 wish through Make-A-Wish Foundation and she is working on completing her second very soon. This continues to include Pennies to Parents, Operation Christmas Child, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Unicef, The Red Cross – I could keep going. One of the most remarkable things she is working on today is trying to get her family an Extreme Make Over – Home Edition with Ty Pennington as her brother has special needs and their home cannot accommodate him anymore. I believe it is the next generation that will make a huge impact on the world and Calista is a remarkable example of this.

Living Philanthropic:

Carlo Garcia truly is an everyday hero. Carlo dedicated 1 year of his life to giving every day. Yes we are on a similar mission. His site Living Philanthropic featured a different charity every day for 365 days. He made a personal donation to each of the charities in hopes to inspire more people to give every day. Carlo isn’t a millionaire, but gave up personal indulgences like lattes and more clothes to make his donations. He personally donated $4165.00 and inspired others to give an additional $15,149 to various organizations featured on his site. Even though his 365 days of giving are over, he is still continuing his mission of giving. You should see what he is doing for year 2!

Part of the Impossible:

Wendy Bourgon packed her whole life up for a simple reason. This is a quote taken from her site:

“Visiting Zambia and Kenya opened my eyes to the oneness of the human family. I came to realize that regardless of where we live, we all share the same hopes, dreams and frustrations. We all want to eat, have a home, be cared for when we are sick, be comforted when we grieve and see our kids fulfill their potential.”

Wendy moved to a small village in Zambia to do one, simple thing – to give. She didn’t go for a holiday.  She has committed her time to help a village struggling in Africa. She is finding ways to give a hand up not a hand out by making the village sustainable not dependant. Would you dedicate a year or more of your life to a group of strangers on the other side of the world removing yourself from the everyday comforts of home? Could you dig a well? Take care of goats? Help a community thrive and grow? Wendy is doing it and she is hero for that reason.

Philanthropy at 3

Nicolas Way

Last but not least is my 3 year old son Nicolas, my miracle and inspiration. My husband and I were blessed to adopt Nic at the age of 11 weeks old. Now 3 years old, he gives back in so many ways. He has made a choice to learn from his parents and their journey of giving and participates in daily giving naturally.   Without prompting from his parents, he is an avid garbage picker, environmentalist, volunteer and donor. He will stop dead in the middle of a fabulous bike ride just to get off his bike and pick up the garbage on the side walk. He has planted his first vegetable garden to support the planet this spring. His favourite place to go to make a donation is the SPCA (local animal shelter) and he even helped me when I stopped to help an injured cyclist. At 3 I see how he inspires adults and children by the choices he makes. We can teach our children to give at any age.

World Give Day is just around the corner (put in the date). You don’t have to give away your life savings or volunteer for 100 hours to make an impact. Just do/give one thing. My challenge to you is to commit to give one thing every day for a week and see how it feels. I guarantee you it will feel good, you will feel happy and after the week, inspired to give more. You will know that every day of your life has counted.

Time Commitment: You never stop giving