Furthermore: Where the Headlines Take You

Season of Giving

Last week the Christian Science Monitor reported that even during our current economic crisis, folks are giving to those in need. For many of us, this is what the holiday season is all about, being generous and compassionate with our fellow human beings. And even though we may not have a lot to give, anything helps.  Plus, we never know when it might be us who needs the helping hand. One particular issue this article focused on is food insecurity here in the United States. Did you know that in 2008, 49.1 million people lived in food-insecure households, including 16.7 million children? This is according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, click here for more of the USDA's information on "Food Security in the United States". But no matter what the need, I wanted to highlight this article in the hopes of inspiring a season of giving for all of 2010. Let's start the new year off right!

For information on how to make even the smallest donation count, please take a look at Wendy Smith's Give a Little. This book is chock-full of information on a variety of charities, and the ways in which they help people throughout the world.  It also includes heart-warming stories from the people on the receiving end.  Smith makes clear that even a $10 or $20 donation can really help a person in need.  And with so many worthy causes, Give a Little is valuable for the person who knows they want to give, but doesn't know where to start.  Smith does an excellent job showing how just a few dollars can cause a ripple effect that "lifts a whole family, a town, and, astonishingly, even a nation of out poverty."

A similar philanthropic how-to is Town & Country: the Guide to Intelligent Giving by Joanna L. Krotz.  Again, this book includes personal and inspiring stories of people making a difference, and also gives advice on how best to donate money or time to make the most impact, no matter what your financial status.  There is a helpful chapter on examining the things that are important to you in order to find your cause, for "the world and its communities are overflowing with need."  Krotz also offers numerous resources at the back of her book to help you create your own "giving plan".  This book is full of facts, tips and moving accounts of people's generosity.    

Lastly, and again in the hopes of inspiring, Frans De Waal, renowned author and Professor of Psychology at Emory University has written a very interesting book that argues humans and animals are "hard-wired" to express empathy.  So often we hear of the selfish acts of our fellow human beings, just look at the actions leading up to our recent economic bust.  But in The Age of Empathy, De Wall believes there is a behavioral "glue" in primate societies that includes empathy, sympathy, a sense of fair play, and trust.  De Waal refers to this as the "fellow feeling" and goes so far as to quote Adam Smith (who some refer to as the founding father of capitalism) from his own Theory of Moral Sentiments:

How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it.

De Waal uses insight and humor to compare human behavior to that of our animal friends and in doing so, makes us all feel a bit more human...and hopeful.

Now go forth and make the world a better place and happy 2010!