Faith Groups

Age:

• 12-18

Philanthropy is:

• Giving, serving and private citizen action intended for the common good.

Purpose:

• Participants will discover how their time can equal treasure for organizations in the community.

Objectives:

The young person will:

• calculate the amount of money participants donated by using their time and talent for a service project.
• calculate how much money volunteers contribute to organizations.
• reflect on his/her individual impact on the community.
• realize the importance of time and talent through a “dollars and cents” perspective.
• calculate the dollar value of volunteer time contributed by their faith organization. (Variation)
  

Religious Activity Theme:

This activity demonstrates the value of time. The facilitator explains how the value of time equals treasure and how volunteering has a monetary value.

Psalms 37:21
“A righteous person deals graciously and gives”

2 Corinthians 8 (The Message)

Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts.3I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could--far more than they could afford!--pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.

This activity demonstrates the dollar value of time. The facilitator explains how the value of time equals treasure and how volunteering has a monetary value.

Muslim Theme:

Muhammad (pbuh) said, "It is very important for every Muslim to give charity." Muhammad’s Companions asked, "But if he does not have anything to give?" He said, "If has nothing to give, he must do work with his hands to obtain something and benefit himself; and give part of what he earns with the remainder." They said, "But if he is not able to do that work, to benefit himself and give part of what he earns?" Muhammad (pbuh) replied, "Then he should assist the needy and the oppressed." They then asked, "What if he is not able to assist the oppressed?" He said, "Then he should encourage people to do good." They asked, "And if he cannot?" He said, "Then let him keep himself from doing harm to people; for that too is a form of giving and charity for him."

Activity Steps:

• Count out the amount of the current minimum wage in real money. Tell the participants that their time is worth at least this amount per hour. Ask the participants what they think the total would be if they got paid minimum wage for each of the hours they spent or will spend on a service project. (They can make a few guesses.) Tell them that although they are volunteers, their work has a value to society. Volunteerism has an economic value.
• Have the participants propose a method for figuring out how many hours the group spent on a service project. (Alternative: For this activity a mock or potential service project can be used instead of an already completed service project. The service project can be made up with financial figures attached.) Then have them calculate the monetary value. For example, if it took five people twenty hours to write, plan and implement the service project, what is the financial value? Make sure they count all of the participants, all of the time spent planning, traveling to the location, as well as completing the service project.
• Share this quotation from President Bush:
  “My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years, or 4,000 hours, over the rest of your lifetime to the service of your neighbors and your nation.”
  --President George W. Bush, 2003 State of the Union Address
• Explain that by using the same minimum wage amount, they will see what would happens when one person volunteers an average of 1 hour per day, for 5 days a week, and 50 weeks a year. Use the attached chart to help students with the calculations.
• How many years would it take to give the 4000 hours suggested by President Bush? What would the lifetime contribution in dollars be for 4000 hours of service?
• Tell the group that the current population of the United States of America is close to 300 million people. Based on the numbers that the participants just calculated, what would be the total dollar amount donated each year? Allow participants time to calculate the number on their own.

Processing Questions:

1. Are you surprised at the dollar value of the service project?
2. Do you think this is an accurate figure? Why could it be low? (Most people earn more then the minimum wage, especially for skilled/specialized work)
3. How does the country benefit from volunteerism?
4. How do individuals benefit from the experience of volunteering?
5. In what way is it a privilege to help the poor?
6. Why is righteousness produced by giving and dealing graciously with others?
7. In what ways could the faith community mobilize volunteers to address issues of poverty?
8. In what ways do you see others in this faith community volunteering for the good of others?
9. Should our faith community et a goal of volunteer hours/dollar value toward which to work? If so, what should the goal be?

Processing Questions -- Muslim Perspective

1. According to the Islamic sayings of Muhammad (pbuh) above, what should someone do if he has nothing to give?
2. Why does Muhammad want people to give even if they don’t have anything?
3. How does finding something to give help the person who is giving? Example: If someone finds a job so he can give in charity, that helps both the giver and the receiver.

Variation:

Place on the overhead a prepared list of your faith organization’s number of volunteer hours contributed for the last year. Briefly discuss what that means for your organization and the community.

Supplemental Activity:

Before the next group meeting, participants should do three acts of service for another person or for the common good. (Washing mom or dad’s car, raking grandparents or neighbors yard, picking up garbage in the lunch room, calling their faith communities office and asking if they could wash the toys in the nursery etc.) They should calculate the dollar value of their volunteerism and be ready to share those numbers with the group at the next meeting.

Activity Source:

Adapted from the Learning to Give Unit (6-8) "Welcome to Our School"
Lesson Four: "Reflecting the Power of Volunteerism"

Additional Resources:

Further Reflection on a Service Project

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) "Philanthropy – Why Do We Do It?"

Unit "Philanthropy – A Day at The Beach"

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Giving of Private Resources

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) "We Need More Than Money"

Unit "Raising Resources"

 

Civilian Conservation Corps

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) "No Food, No Money, No Job? What to Do?"

Unit "Roosevelt's Tree Army"

 

 

Attachment One

 

The Volunteers of the United States

One Individual

One Hour Per Day = 1hours x $__________ = ________

Five Days a Week = 5 hours x $__________ = ________

50 Weeks a Year = 250 hrs x $__________ = ________

 

Philanthropy Theme Framework :

Strand Standard Benchmark PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS03. Philanthropy and Economics MS 4. Give examples of how nonprofit giving can impact communities. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS03. Philanthropy and Economics HS 4. Give examples of how nonprofit giving by individuals and corporations can impact communities. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS03. Philanthropy and Economics HS 11. Analyze the impact of the volunteer sector on the economy of the local community. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS03. Philanthropy and Economics MS 11. Describe the economic impact of volunteer labor and jobs.