With similar motivations to present-day refugees, African Americans moved north in the mid-1800s to escape slavery and unsafe living conditions in the South. Detroit was an important location where Conductors on the Underground Railroad helped thousands to cross the Detroit River into Canada. In...
Explore the role of philanthropy in responding to emergencies, specifically personal and group efforts to support communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through analyzing a Ted Talk by Robin Wall Kimmerer, participants develop their understanding of what it means to respond with gratitude to the gifts from the Earth. Participants expand their awareness of the interdependent relationship between humans and nature. Kimmerer motivates and...
Introduce the philanthropic behavior of Native Americans through the speech attributed to Chief Seattle, using the book Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: The Words of Chief Seattle.
Learners take action for the common good to promote kindness in their school. They give smiley stickers to others or create posters to display around school with messages that promote kindness or teach people how to respond to bullying behavior.
The learners define bullying and describe the impact on victims, bystanders, and the whole community. We explore how bullying behavior can be a civil rights issue when it makes school a place that isn't fair and safe for all. They create a survey and poll members of their school and...
Young people investigate the problems caused by plastic shopping bags, then propose solutions to address the problems. This lesson prompts teams to design a reusable shopping tote out of an old T-shirt using engineering, problem-solving, creativity, and communication. They take action...
This beautiful documentary The Gift of All: a Community of Givers shares the motivations and attributes of the generous people interviewed. In response, the learners create their own short biographies of philanthropists in their community.
Learners research the environmental effect of crayons and their own power to make an impact. They collect gently used crayons from restaurants and other places in the community. They sort them by color, repackage them for re-use, add a kind note, and donate the new packages where they...
Youth Activity: Participants will discover that sharing and trust are important parts of philanthropic action. See the handout for supplemental faith-based discussion questions.
“The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.” ~Julia Alvaraz