BETTER OUR WORLD Throughout the course of the Better Our World project, I learned a lot a bout the

vitality of philanthropy in our own community, and from a global standpoint; its influence on society and humankind. The variant forms of philanthropy in our modern society are endless. Whe ther its volunteering at the soup kitchen, or knitting a quilt for the victims of the tragic Hurricane Sandy, the opportunities to better our world and society a re infinite. The reason that philanthropy appeals to us is because it is so easy to help and often doesnt require a substantial amount of money. The intrinsic value of philanthropy is the same throughout all cultures. Philanthropy is simply a contribution to the welfare of the needy. However, the re is a defining line between charity and philanthropy. The purpose of philanthr opy is to improve the wellbeing of humankind by preventing and solving social pr oblems, whereas charity focuses on eliminating the suffering caused by social pr oblems. For example, giving food to a person who is suffering from famine is cha rity. The food helps the person for a short period of time, but the person will become hungry again in the future. Teaching the person to grow food is philanthr opy because it eliminates is problem all together. When we see and hear about the dire circumstances that the less fortunat e suffer from every day, it evokes empathy within us and that is what propels us to contribute to them. For example, you wouldnt contribute to a cause that has a ll the resources it needs. You would donate to a cause that you feel needs the m ost help. This is why a lot of non-profitable philanthropy based organizations p resent their cause in a dismal manner, which appeals to the philanthropist. In society, helping others is a central point of survival and ameliorati on. The saying a chain is only as strong as its weakest link is a great summary of the idea behind this. I believe that helping others is beneficial to society as a whole. Just a small deed or act of kindness can go a long way. When we help others, it removes that selfishness we feel and replaces it with selfness. Each individual who helps another gets that feeling of self wort h and importance. Not only does it make the person you helped feel good inside, but it increases your own self-esteem. Helping others can improve everybodys outlook on you and can even be bene ficial to your reputation. If someone sees you even doing the smallest act of ki ndness like holding the door open or picking up somebodys books when they fall to the ground, their own vision of your personality will change for the better. Wh en everybody starts to notice, you start to make new friends that you never knew you could make, everybody starts to like you, which leads to a greater sense of self-worth. After reviewing all of the different forms of philanthropy in local Gran d Junction, I feel that I would most be interested in volunteering for an organi zation involved with sustainability of the environment. Preserving the beauty of nature is becoming increasingly difficult with our growing population and indus trial development. I feel that if we do not help preserve it now, the next gener ation of children will not be able to experience nature the way that we do. The Better Our World project was a great opportunity to reflect upon our own experiences with helping others; and an encouragement to get active in our community. I believe that this lesson will end up being important in the long-ru n and I hope to carry it with me throughout my life.