A HEMI SPHERES SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT :
G I F T OF G I V I NG
THEGIFTOFGIVING
THEHOLIDAYSEASON ISUPONUS,WHICHMEANSCOUNTLESSPARTIES,
FAMILYGATHERINGSANDPRESENTSGALORE. IT’SALSOATIMEFOR
PEOPLETOGIVEBACK,ANDWHENPHILANTHROPY ISAT ITSGREATEST.
THERE’SSOMETHING
about this timeofyear thatmakes
yousimultaneously realizewhatyouhave, and that
therearepeopleout there less fortunate thanyou. It’sno
surprise then, that38%of thosewhodonate tocharity
said that theyaremore likely todosoduring theholiday
season (according toAskYourTargetMarket’s latest
survey) thananyotherperiod.
Formanyorganizations, however, giving isan
everydayoccurrence. At St. JudeChildren’sResearch
Hospital inMemphis, forexample, families
without insurancedonothave topay for
treatment. Aswell asprovidingmedical
services, St. Judealsogives free lodging,
mealsandhelpwith transportation
to the familiesof itspatients. The
hospital’sbudgeteddailyoperating
cost is$2million, but it isable todo
this thanks topubliccontributions that
coveraround75%of thesecosts.
Inasimilarvein, BigBrothersBigSisters
(BBBS) isanon-profitorganization that
provideschildrenbetween theagesof six
andeighteenwithvolunteermentors,who
support them, help themgrowandachieve
theiraspirations, andhaveapositiveeffect
on their lives—all outof thegoodnessof theirhearts.
BBBSofMetroAtlanta, for instance, hasbeenputting this
intoaction in theAtlantaarea fornearly50years, and is
oneof themost successful branchesofBBBS.
Over inCalifornia, theUniversityofCalifornia, Los
Angeles (UCLA) is focusedonprovidingeducation forall,
makingstudent scholarshipsand fundingapriority. The
UCLACommunitySchool, forexample, isapartnership
betweenUCLAand theLosAngelesUnifiedSchoolDistrict
(LAUSD) thatwassetup in2009, andoffershigh-quality
education, particularlyservingchildren from low-income
families. In2013-14, thestudentpopulationwas81%
low-incomechildren.UCLA’sexpertisehashelped
dramatically increase thepercentageof studentsgoing to
college inapreviouslyunderservedneighborhood.
In2014,UCLA launched its$4.2-billionCentennial
Campaign—the largest fundraisingeffortever
undertakenbyapublicuniversity—inhonor
of its forthcoming100-yearanniversary
in2019. So far, $2.1billionhasalready
been raised towards thisgoal.
Inanother bid toencourage smart
students intohigher education,
evenwhen they can’t afford it, the
co-creator, cast and crewof thehit
television show
TheBigBangTheory
(witha storylinebasedaroundagroup
of physicists) set upa scholarship fundat
UCLAearlier in2015 toprovide financial
aid to20 students (and fromnowon, five
new studentsper year) pursuingdegrees
in the fieldsof science, technology,
engineeringandmathematics.
There isnodoubt that theeffortsof these
organizationsand theirvolunteers, aswell as themany
othersout there, aremaking lastingchanges to the lives
of individualsand, in turn, theworld. Itmakesyou think,
especially in theholidayseason, thatperhaps themost
valuablegiftofall is thatof selflesslygiving toothers.
The recipientsof TheBigBang
Theory scholarshipmetwith
the show’s cast and crew
Central photo:WarnerBros.Words: VictoriaBeardwood
