Learners will produce a philanthropy manual of community philanthropic activities during the World War II Era and a list of philanthropic agencies in the community today.

Instructor's Note: Invite a speaker from a local philanthropic agency to speak to your class about the agency or foundation, its history, goals and community impact. Possible list of speakers: United Way, Girl or Boy Scouts, Big Brother and Sister, Red Cross, private family foundation in the community or state, faith based charity.

Anticipatory Set:


Define community (its structure, components, and roles) and how it functions during a crisis, emphasizing behaviors learned from Lesson One: "Primary Source? What is That?" Lesson Two: "Giving Beyond Measure: Diary of Anne Frank" and Lesson Three: "The Roles of Individuals in the Warsaw Ghetto."

• Develop the vocabulary of philanthropy with the learners:
  
  

  Annual gift	(n) Contributions made to nonprofit agencies in support of their yearly fund raising
  Benevolence	(n) The inclination to be charitable - benevolent (adj.)
  Bond	(n) A duty or binding agreement; an investment vehicle****
  Charitable deduction	(n) The portion of a gift/donation (money or property) that can be deducted from the donor's income subject to federal, or sometimes state, income tax
  Charity	(n) Money or help given to aid the needy; an organization, fund, or institution whose purpose is to aid those in need - derived from the Christian concept of caritas, meaning love of one's neighbor
  Community	(n, pl. -ies) A group of people living in the same area and under the same government; a class or group having common interests and likes
  Fundraising	(n) Soliciting money to benefit a cause or organization
  Foundation	(n) An organization created from designated funds from which the income is distributed as grants to not-for-profit organizations or, in some cases, to people
  In-kind contributions	(n) Contributions of equipment, supplies, or other tangible property as distinguished from monetary grants
  Philanthropy	(n) 1. The giving of one's time, talent or treasure for the sake of another- or for the common good - Robert Payton, 2. Voluntary action for the public good -Robert Payton, 3. Voluntary giving, voluntary service, and voluntary association, primarily for the benefit of others - Robert Payton, 4. Giving and serving -Richard J. Bentley and Luana G. Nissan, 5. Active effort to promote human welfare, 6. A tradition, a spirit, and a sector of society - Maurice G. Gurin and Jon Van Til
  Grassroots organization	(n) A group consisting of local participants who work together originally to improve upon their community and extend to a broader basis

  
  
   
• Discuss how each of the vocabulary items relates to identified agencies, foundations.
  
   
• Discuss the types of foundations and agencies in their community
  
   
• Visit the Learning to Give website: http://www.learningtogive.org/timeline/ to obtain the philanthropy timeline for the World War II time span. Copy that timeline for the class. Use it as a basis for having learners research all the grass roots organizations and established foundations and charities during that era in your community and state. Use the local phone books to have learners research current philanthropic organizations in your community.
  
   
• Discuss the war bond effort and the status of US savings bonds today.

Instructor's Note: ***** You may want to ask a local banker to come in and talk about this topic.

 

• Develop a master list of all philanthropic activities within their community and state during WW II and to 1950. Extend that so that the refugee programs would be covered.
  
   
• Have the learners suggest those items that should be covered in their manual. Vote and select the items. Include index, glossary and table of contents.
  
   
• Divide the class into peer groups most effective for the size of your class. Three to four is recommended.
  
   
• Have learners select a recorder and chair to plan the process for gathering information and producing their part of a collaborative class manual.
  
   
• Have the learners decide which elements or sections their group would be responsible for completing and develop the timeline for completion.
  
   
• Learners will research and compile their portions of the manual.
  
   
• Peer group edit research.
  
   
• Bring class together to select final design and vote on cover, layout.
  
   
• Learners will present their findings to the group prior to publication.
  
   
• Compile and publish their manual.
  
   
• Present manual to the school library.

Reflection Activities:

Prior to the activity:  Learners write down their expectations and feelings regarding the activity.

During the activity:  Keep a daily log of work undertaken, completed, needs and assessment of daily work as an individual within the group and for the group.

After the activity: Final evaluation of the project.  Include recommendations for improvment, what needs to be kept, plusses and minuses.

The learners are to survey their extended families to discover activities relating to philanthropy in which they participate. Have them make a list and share it with the class. If they have friends or family members who participated in any activities during WW II, ask them to write those down and share with the class. Examples: some grandmothers may have folded bandages, blood drives, war bonds, food collections, sent cookies to soldiers, etc.

• Salzman, Marian and Teresa Reisgies with Maribel Becker et al. 150 Ways Teens Can Make A Difference: A Handbook for Action. New Jersey: Peterson's Guides, 1991.
  A book for teens concerning how to get involved in one's community and who to contact for information to do so.
  
   
• Active Citizenship Today: Field Guide. CA: Constitutional Rights Foundation, 1995.
  This five-chapter book for students details the idea of being an active citizen in a community through service learning components.
  
   
• Duke University, a project of A project of theDigital Scriptorium, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Sepecial Collections Library
  http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/collections/digitized/
  
   
• Michigan Nonprofit Association www.mnaonline.org
   
• Council of Michigan Foundations http://www.michiganfoundations.org/s_cmf/index.asp
  
   
• Center for the Study of Philanthropy www.philanthropy.org