Faith Groups

Age:

• 7-11

Philanthropy is:

• Sharing time, talent and treasure, and taking action for the common good.

Purpose:

• Participants will know the definition of philanthropy, and be able to recognize philanthropic traits and actions.

Objectives:

The young person will:

• understand the definition of philanthropy.
• give examples of ways that they can be philanthropists by sharing time, talent and/or treasure.

Religious Activity Theme:

Talmud Sukkah 49b
Whoever does charity and justice is regarded as if he filled the whole world with kindness

Luke 19:20-26
"The next servant said, "Master, here's your money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards and hate sloppiness, and don't suffer fools gladly.'

"He said, "You're right that I don't suffer fools gladly--and you've acted the fool! Why didn't you at least invest the money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?'

"Then he said to those standing there, "Take the money from him and give it to the servant who doubled my stake.'

"They said, "But Master, he already has double . . .'

"He said, "That's what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.

(Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ? 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group)

Muslim Theme:

At the end of one of Prophet Muhammad’s prayers (SAW), he hastily got up and, stepping over the shoulders of the people, went home in a hurry. People, not knowing what the hurry was, were wondering why he was rushing. When he came back he saw that his friends were confused and wondering about his rushing away. He explained that he had suddenly remembered leaving behind a piece of gold in the house and he was afraid that if something happened to him and he didn’t give as much as he could in charity, it would be judged against him on the day of judgment.  So, he had hurried home to give it to the poor immediately. Source: Bukhari and Mishkaat. Philanthropy in Islam is an obligation that you must be careful about.

Activity Steps:

• The facilitator explains that today the participants are going to learn a new word. This word will be used frequently in future sessions. Participants need to understand the word and how it applies to them. The word is “PHILANTHROPY.”
• The facilitator writes the word “philanthropy” on newsprint and below the word adds the definition:
  

  “sharing time, talent and treasure, and taking action for the common good.”

  
  
• Next the symbols are added to the definition: a clock for time, stick figures holding hands for talent, and a dollar sign for treasure. The facilitator goes over all the words in the definition, explaining the symbols.
• To illustrate the meaning of philanthropy, the facilitator takes the spray bottle and opens the spray nozzle to a mist and sprays water onto the paper towel or absorbent paper. The facilitator explains that a person begins to be a philanthropist very much like the mist spray. The person may have lots of interests/talents and has not decided how to use them of what they really care about.
• Tighten the nozzle on the spray bottle, making it a direct spray. Spray another piece of paper towel to show what happens when the direct spray hits the paper. Explain that as the participants begin to discover their interests/talents and what they really care about, their actions will be more focused.
• The facilitator asks the participants to look at each of the words in the definition: time, talent, and treasure and then asks the group for examples of how young people their age can share their “time” for the common good. These actions are written on chart paper.
• Repeat this process through “talent” and “treasure.” The facilitator explains that these actions tell about “philanthropy.” The actions describe what is meant by philanthropy. A person who does these things is called a “philanthropist.” Philanthropists perform these actions from the heart.
• Christian Perspective – Like 19: Explain that each person has been given a talent that can be used to help others. If we hide or keep our talents to ourselves, no one benefits, and we are like the man in the story who hid the money. When we start to think about how to be a philanthropist, we assess what we have and how we can use it for the good of others. When this happens Jesus/Rabbi in the story informs us that we gain our life. Ask students: What are some of your gifts or talents?
• Read the poem “The Word for Me is Philanthropy”. Repeat the poem a second time and this time have the group stand and shout the last line.
• After reading the poem, ask the participants to volunteer to share philanthropic acts they, or someone in their faith community, have done with their time, talent, and treasure . After each sharing, have the participants shout, “You are a philanthropist.”
  

Processing Questions:

1. What have we learned about philanthropy today?
2. How do you know when someone is a philanthropist?
3. What happens if we don’t use our gifts?
4. How does it affect others when we are not willing to share or use our talents?
5. What benefits do we receive when we use our talents? (achievement, self-worth, we stop thinking about ourselves…)
   

Processing Questions -- Muslim Perspective:

1. In the story above, why did Muhammad rush home? How do you feel about what he did?
2. Muslims believe we should help people because God wants us to. What happens if we don’t give as much as we can?
3. Are we rewarded by God more if we give more?

Supplemental Activity:

The facilitator tells the participants to wear their nametag until they get ready for bed tonight. They should keep track of how many people asked them the question and what their response was to the question. In a future session, take some time to process the Ask Me nametags and responses.

Activity Source:

Adapted from Community Partnerships with Youth Inc. The Word for Me Is Philanthropy

Additional Resources:

Understanding Philanthropy

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) “Common Good”

Unit “Philanthropy in Literature”

Defining Philanthropy

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) “Phil'-ing Good”

Unit “Foundations and You”

Defining Philanthropy

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) “Philanthropy — What Is It?”

Unit “Why Do People Give?”

 

Attachment One

The Word for Me Is Philanthropy

I can give my time away,
Be kind in what I do and say.

I can give my talent away,
Helping and sharing come what may.

I can give my treasure away,
Giving money is okay.

If you listen to what I say,
Philanthropy is there in every way.

If you care about the common good,
Philanthropy is understood.

Say it again! Say it loud!
Philanthropy makes me proud!

Philanthropy Theme Framework :

Strand Standard Benchmark PHIL I. Definitions of Philanthropy DP 01. Define Philanthropy E 1. Define philanthropy as the giving and sharing of time, talent, or treasure intended for the common good.