By: Luke Ungarino, BA 2017
“Now… what is the purpose of philanthropy?” Dr. Hogue posed this question to our class and waited for a brave response. I was hardly surprised that the age-old question of purpose resounded even in the closest thing to a business class I will ever take.
That was in the first week of the semester. We’ve now moved from the textbooks, research, and planning to the up-close and personal, visiting organizations’ sites and sizing up their potential for a grant from the class. The last organization that the Children, Youth, and Education program officers (my team) visited was the Talitha Koum Institute, an innovative therapeutic nursery that delivers its own profound answer to this question of purpose by working with small children and babies who come from distressed home environments.
As Oliver, Sarah, and I drove through the Kate Ross neighborhood to Talitha Koum, I should not have been so surprised by the neighborhood’s desperate condition. There were no neighborhood association awards for best garden or similar hallmarks of Waco’s best neighborhoods. Instead there was rotting paneling, men walking idly on the pavement, shot out streetlights, and the other usual indicators of a crumbling neighborhood– all within a mile of Baylor. Talitha Koum’s building was not in tip-top shape either, but the men repainting the outside walls offered us a smile as we walked into an eye-opening world.
Susan, the dynamic CEO of Talitha Koum, welcomed us upon entering the building. Susan enjoyed a successful career as owner of a marketing firm when she responded to the call to be Executive Director at Talitha Koum. As she walked us through the various rooms of the building, I was reminded of a proud mother beaming in the light of her child’s success. And indeed the organization had plenty to be proud of.
In the first room, designated for the under one-year-olds, a few babies scattered the floor, sleeping peacefully, while their teacher rocked another in his rocking chair. Moving to the two-year-olds’ room, several children played under the careful eye of their smiling teacher. The tour continued this pattern of happily playing or sleeping babies in secure, comfortable rooms.
While the fancy sensory therapeutic play equipment and the stock-full shelves of play toys and diapers were memorable indicators of the great work that Talitha Koum is doing, what made its greatest impression on me was the people. Every staffer and volunteer we encountered seemed to know their profound purpose. I got a small taste of their passion just watching them interact with the kids.
After our tour concluded we got a chance to sit down with Bruce, one of the inspiring teachers in the two-year-old group. Bruce told us a story of RJ (name changed for confidentiality), a boy who came to the institute several years ago. RJ suffered from severe anxiety. He cried literally nonstop, and none of the staff’s cutting-edge therapeutic interventions seemed to work. Bruce took a particular interest in RJ and made it his mission to help him overcome his anxiety. He spent entire hours holding RJ just to keep him from crying, and gradually, RJ’s temperament improved. Eventually RJ became one of the happiest kids at Talitha Koum and is now thriving in his education.
Bruce helped RJ on an individual level. As grantmakers this semester, we are not in a position to serve individuals hands-on like Bruce. However, we can be a part of the mission of men and women like Bruce by providing them the means to fulfill their mission through the philanthropy course. Bruce’s story illustrated his purpose as a source of comfort and development to RJ and the other children at Talitha Koum.
We too must ask ourselves, what is our purpose? Behind the logistics and paperwork and site visits and conference calls, this is a fundamental question in our work this semester. My visit at Talitha Koum helped me understand my purpose as a servant in the philanthropy course. When I first visited with the folks at Talitha Koum several weeks ago, I thought to myself that I needed to be in the trenches with these men and women, rather than sitting at a desk reading, writing, conference calling, etc. However, that is not my purpose at this moment. We can share with those who are in the trenches by viewing ourselves as part of the same, larger configuration. On the grantmaking side of things, I can enable those who do inspiring work throughout our community with the resources they need to continue their mission.
A proud New Orleanian, Luke Ungarino concentrates his studies in political philosophy and ethics in the University Scholars program. He is discerning a vocation in ministry, though entrepreneurship and education are also possibilities. He lives with seven other Baylor students who host “Convivium,” a monthly lecture series in their apartment featuring academics speaking on all things relating to modern culture, religion, and sexuality.