The kids these days
One of the best things about our forays into creative microphilanthropy is that they so often involve the young and wise. Check out the latest post over at GOOD, paying tribute to all the little ones that have taught us something about generosity.
Though Darwin is most widely known for popularizing the “survival of the fittest,” that was actually only half of his view on human nature. Twelve years after publishing On the Origins of Species, he wrote Descent of Man, in which he argued that “our regard for the approbation and disapprobation of our fellows depends on sympathy, which, as we shall see, forms an essential part of the social instinct, and is indeed its foundation-stone.”
How about that? Even Darwin believed that human beings are instinctually social and sympathetic. Perhaps it’s society’s hardening effects that condition us to stop obeying our most basic instincts to empathize, share, and act on behalf of others. That's why kids are such great teachers and benefactors of creative microphilanthropy.
Philanthropy as connection
Remember this video?
Check out the latest post at GOOD, this time focusing in on the inspiring power of human connection that sparks within creative philanthropy:
Many of the “secret agents” of The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy have found over the years that it’s not their finances that are most altered by the endeavor, but their attention. As they walk through the world, conscious that they have agreed to give away a small amount of money, they begin to notice things about the people around them and feel more engaged in the suffering they witness. They begin to chew on questions like: Who am I really responsible for? How do I define “stranger”? What role do I want to play in my coffee shop, my neighborhood, my city?
Christmas comes early for suprised strangers
Love this.
At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents.
Care for a spot of tweet this afternoon?
We'll be doing a live tweet chat with the community forming around GOOD's 30-day creative microphilanthropy challenge at 2pm EST. Tweet your questions, comments, and bright ideas @sscpsuperagent and don't forget the hashtag: #30daysofGOOD.
Give what you love
Another post is up at GOOD on creative microphilanthropy. The challenge is starting to really heat up over there. An excerpt:
Rather than dwelling on the world’s ills, start by asking a question that begins with your own soul. Civil rights leader and theologian Howard Thurman recommends: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”