When life is at its most difficult and grief is great, a generous sacrifice can move the spirit toward life again. In these folktales, two Inuits face death with a truly generous spirit.

Sometimes you have to give up what you truly love to get what you really want. That can be a hard lesson when you have almost nothing. This lesson looks at who has the responsibility to be generous and what changes can come about because of one’s generosity. 

This lesson introduces the type of folklore known as folktales. Young people identify the traits of folklore found in cultures across the world, including the common theme of "philanthropic giving."

This lesson introduces learners to taking personal action to respond to a crisis or disaster. They learn vocabulary terms spend, save, and donate, as well as the definition of philanthropy (giving time, talent, and treasure, and taking action for the common good).

This lesson introduces ways to respond with empathy and generosity to a natural disaster. Young people learn about civic responsibility and addressing needs. They define vocabulary terms philanthropy, spend, save, and donate. 

Using the plays from the previous lesson as a jumpstart, youth carry out a plan to share time and talent in the community.  They may help at a local food pantry or donation center.  After the visit, they reflect on the impact of their contribution to the community and themselves. 

The youth read the book Seedfolks and discuss the diverse characters and their individual contributions to a community garden. While learning about the thirteen individuals in the story, they identify their character, heritage, motivations, and contributions to nourishing and maintaining the vacant lot garden. They discuss how their combined efforts changed not only their lives but also the lives of their community for the better. They relate this to their own diverse community.

Youth learn about the work of African American inventors who had a positive influence on society by contributing scientific innovation for the common good.

Participants learn about the scientific contributions of African American inventors and scientists today and in the past.

Young people learn about philanthropy through the book Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen and a visit from a nonprofit representative.