Learning to Give, Curriculum Division of The LEAGUE

Age:

• 7-11

Philanthropy is:

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

Purpose:

• Participants will recognize a “habit of the heart.” They will leave this session with a plan for specific philanthropic actions they can take in the coming weeks to grow their habits of the heart.

Objectives:

The young person will:

• understand how habits are developed.
• identify the habits of caring and sharing.
  

Religious Activity Theme:

 

Psalm 64:9
Everyone sees it. God's work is the talk of the town. Be glad, good people! Fly to God! Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.

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

Matthew 6:2 (New International Version)

2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.

Genesis Rabbah 86:6

“Wherever the righteous go, the Shechinah (Presence of God) goes with them.”

 

Activity Steps:

• Assign the participants a partner. Give each team a 12 inch piece of yarn. Have them tie the two ends together to form a large loop. Instruct each team member to put a hand through the loop and get ready to pull.
• When the facilitator says, “GO!” the pairs are to pull on the loop until the yarn breaks. The yarn should break very easily this first time. Now give each team a piece of yarn longer than 48 inches. Instruct the participants to tie a knot in the yarn to create approximately the same size loop as before. Insert their hands in the loop and then wrap the additional yarn around the loop as many times as possible so that they have several strands (probably four) of yarn making up the loop instead of just one strand.
• When you say “GO!” the teams are to pull on the loop and try to break the yarn. This time it will be more difficult for the participants to break the yarn.
• Explain that the yarn illustrates something about forming habits. The first time something is done (one strand of yarn) it is not yet a habit – it is very weak. The more something is done over and over again (many strands of yarn) it becomes stronger and is eventually a habit, not easily broken.
• Ask the participants to name some good habits.
• Ask them to name some bad habits.
• Ask how they think they might go about developing the habit of caring and sharing. (by repeated practice of acts of caring and sharing – just like the repeated yarn)
• Explain to the participants that philanthropists have strong habits of the heart (caring and sharing) that cannot be broken because they had grown and developed through practice. Reflect on the “habits of the heart” that are important to their specific faith tradition. Tell the participants that it is important for youth to “get in the habit” of sharing their time, talent and treasures, for the habit to be so strong that throughout life it will be something they do naturally.
• Read the “Make My Day” story (Attachment One) to the participants. Tell them to pay special attention to the different habits they hear being developed in the story.
• Divide the participants into groups of four or five. Ask the participants to think about the kind of “Make My Day” Club they could create that would help to develop their “habits of the heart.” The idea behind the club is for the participants to be developing their “habits of the heart” through doing things to help others. Ask them each to share with their groups at least one thing they could do to “make their day” before the next group meeting. Be sure all participants are clear on what they are to do. Tell them that we will discuss what happened as a result of forming this club at the next session.
• Introduce The Giving Game as a fun way to track the progress of your “Make My Day” Club. View the Giving Game Web site for an explanation of the game. can be found at. This free game can be introduced by using the Giving Game lesson.

Processing Questions:

1. How do you think it will feel to do good things for others?
2. What response do you think you will receive from people you were helping or from people who notice you are helping?
3. Why is it important not to tell everyone that you are doing something good?
4. How do others see God when you participate in an act of kindness?
5. Do you think that eventually you will forget that you are doing this as part of a club and just help out naturally? How long do you think you would have to keep doing the “Make My Day” Club before it becomes a strong habit?
6. How could you get siblings, friends, or family members to develop habits of caring and sharing?

Supplemental Activity:

Brainstorm with the participants what “Make My Day” Club they could do all by themselves at home that would be developing their “Habits of the Heart.” Come up with an idea that one participant could use at home or perhaps involve siblings. Encourage the participants to try it consistently for one week and see what happens.

Activity Source:

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

Additional Resources:

Sharing in Legend

Learning to Give Lesson (3-5) “Recognizing Philanthropy in a Legend and in Modern Society – Examples of Sharing as Told in a Native American Legend”

Unit “Philanthropy and You”

Daily Philanthropy

Learning to Give Lesson (K-2) “Reach Into the Caring Container”

Unit “Philanthropy is ‘PHun’”

Youth as Philanthropists

Learning to Give Lesson (K-2) “I’m a Philanthropist”

Unit “We Can All Do Our Share”

Giving Game: http://www.givinggame.org

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

 

 

Attachment One

Make My Day

It started out as a normal Saturday for Jules. Jules had just celebrated her eighth birthday and was looking forward to riding her new bike that she had received as a present from her mom and dad. She got up early, dressed, ate a bowl of Goody Pops, her favorite cereal, and headed out.

As she left her yard with her dog, Jet, following close behind, Jules noticed her next door neighbor, Mrs. Dottle, loading bags of clothes into her car. Stopping by to say Hi!, Jules asked what Mrs. Dottle was going to do with the clothes. Mrs. Dottle replied, “I am giving these clothes to a family from my church. It just makes my day to see their faces when I bring things to them.” And with that Mrs. Dottle happily climbed into her car and headed off.

Jules watched Mrs. Dottle pull away and wondered what she meant when she said “it just makes my day.”

Jules pedaled down her street and decided to stop by the local grocery market to buy some gum with some of her birthday money. As she entered the store, she noticed Mr. Kahn, the owner of the store, boxing up cans of food into a big box. Mr. Kahn looked up and greeted Jules with a big “Hello Birthday Girl!” Jules smiled and explained that she was using some of her birthday money to get some of her favorite gum. Jules then looked at the box of canned goods and asked Mr. Kahn, “Why are you boxing up those canned goods, did someone place a big order?” “Oh, no,” Mr. Kahn replied, “I am giving these to one of the families that live just up the street. I heard that the dad has been ill and not been able to work for awhile.” He continued, “It just makes my day to help out my customers like this.” And with that Mr. Kahn heaved the big box onto a cart and wheeled it out of the store.

Jules stared at Mr. Kahn as he left the store and thought to herself, “there it is again -makes my day.” She wondered what Mr. Kahn meant by “makes my day” when he was giving away food that he could be selling.

Jules paid the $.25 for the gum and walked back to her parked bike. As she climbed on her bike, she popped a piece of the gum into her mouth and stuffed the wrapper into her pocket. Jet was looking at her as if to say, which way now. Jules reached down and petted his head and decided they would head for the park. It was a nice day and maybe there would be other kids in the park by now.
As she rounded the corner of the street next to the park, she noticed lots of people walking around the park carrying big plastic bags. As she entered the park, she noticed that the people were all picking up trash and debris from the park and putting it in the big bags. Jules rode through the parking lot of the park and noticed a big sign on a picnic table that said “NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP.” As she stopped to look at the sign, a young man walked up to retrieve another plastic bag. He smiled and said hello to Jules. Jules smiled back and asked, “What are you guys doing?” The young man answered, “We are cleaning up the park. It has been used a lot by the families in the neighborhood and it was in need of a good clean up. It just makes my day to do something to help the neighborhood.” “Oh” responded Jules as she began to pedal on through the park.

As Jules pedaled through the park she couldn’t help but wonder, what did all these people mean by “makes my day.” She thought about what she had seen during the morning and what the people were doing that had said it to her. Suddenly she brought her bike to stop and smiled a big smile. She had figured it out and she had an idea. Seeing Jules smile, Jet wagged his tail and jumped up on Jules’ leg. Jules said, “Let’s go Jet, we have work to do.”
Jules went by her friends’ homes and asked them to come to her house at 11:00 a.m. When her friends arrived, Jules explained what she had observed in the morning and how everyone had said it “makes my day.” And then Jules explained her idea. Her friends were so excited about the idea that they couldn’t wait to get started. And remember said Jules, “It is our secret club. Don’t let anyone else know. We’ll meet back here at 4:00.” The girls nodded and headed out.

At 4:00 Jules and her friends were gathered in a circle and there was so much happy chatter, anyone passing by would have thought there was a party going on.

One friend was explaining how she had helped her grandpa sweep his porch and wash his front door windows. “My grandpa was so happy, it just made my day,” said the friend.

Another friend shared that she had taken her allowance and given it a homeless person that she saw by the bus station and he had thanked her with his eyes. “The look in his eyes, just made my day,” she explained.

The shyest friend talked about writing a letter to the postman and putting it in the mailbox, thanking him for being such a great postman and delivering the mail everyday. She explained that she then hid behind the bushes until he came to deliver the mail and watched as he found her letter. “The smile on his face as he read my letter, just made my day,” she exclaimed.

Jules was so excited that her idea had worked. It made her feel so good to see the looks on her friends’ faces as they shared their “make my day” experiences. Suddenly the chatter stopped and all the friends looked at Jules. One of the girls asked, “what did you do to “make your day?”

Jules said, “Well, I decided if helping out could make your day for one day, why not do it everyday and make people’s day everyday.” Jules handed each friend a “MAKE MY DAY” secret membership card with each friend’s name on it. She explained, “From today on, we will be the secret MAKE MY DAY club. We will figure out ways to help others. No one will ever know about our club. We will just make their day and as you can see, it will “make our day” everyday. We are now the secret “MAKE MY DAY” club.”

Philanthropy Theme Framework :

Strand Standard Benchmark PHIL I. Definitions of Philanthropy DP 01. Define Philanthropy E 3. Recognize that citizens have a responsibility for the common good, and define core democratic values. PHIL I. Definitions of Philanthropy DP 02. Roles of Government, Business, and Philanthropy E 6. Explain why acting philanthropically is good for the community, state, or nation. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS02. Diverse Cultures E 5. Identify the relationship of individual rights and community responsibility. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS05. Philanthropy and Government E 1. Define community as the degree that people come together for the common good. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS05. Philanthropy and Government E 3. Discuss the importance of personal virtue, good character, and ethical behavior in a democracy. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS05. Philanthropy and Government E 7. Describe why the classroom, school, or neighborhood is a community. PHIL II. Philanthropy and Civil Society PCS05. Philanthropy and Government E 14. Describe the roles of citizens in government. PHIL III. Philanthropy and the Individual PI 01. Reasons for Individual Philanthropy E 4. Give an example of how citizens acted for the common good. PHIL III. Philanthropy and the Individual PI 01. Reasons for Individual Philanthropy E 5. Give examples of actions students can take to improve the common good and list or describe responsibilities that go with those actions. PHIL III. Philanthropy and the Individual PI 01. Reasons for Individual Philanthropy E 6. Make a connection between a Core Democratic Value and philanthropy.