Niru Ancha, BBA 2020
For the past few weeks in Philanthropy and the Public Good, we have been focusing on defining philanthropy. We have looked at philanthropy from many angles and have determined what it means to each of us in the class. In addition, we have been discussing our class values and philanthropic viewpoints as a group. A couple weeks ago, we were divided into four groups with common philanthropic interests. My group is focusing on healthcare in our local community. Up to this point, we have mainly been planning and organizing the semester ahead of us.
As a Pre-Med student, my educational background has mainly been comprised of all science and lecture based classes. Because of this fact, I was drawn to this class since it is so different from any class I have taken before. During the first few classes alone, much of the material and classwork was discussion based. The class discussions along with the class readings challenged me to reflect on my values and outlook on giving. These are topics I would have never conventionally had to think about in my science classes. During the past weeks, I have had to seriously think about which aspects of giving are important to me, personally.
Throughout my life, the type of giving I have taken part in is devoting time to volunteering. Since I am passionate about entering the medical field, I have spent time volunteering at local hospitals, health clinics, and other community organizations. Volunteering has allowed me to see the impact a helping hand can have on people’s lives. I am now interested to see how monetary giving through grants can affect its recipients as well. I have come to realize that strategic monetary giving can have a more lasting effect on its recipients. Frumkin explains how philanthropy aims to help those in need until they are able to support themselves. Also, grant giving can be a way of supporting causes that you resonate with and transferring values into action.
Reflecting on and having to put my ideals into words has made me realize what I hope to accomplish through this class. I have been able to relate influential instances in my life to how I plan to give back to my community through a grant and how I plan to live a meaningful life. For example, my time volunteering at the Mission Waco Health Clinic has allowed me to discover the value I place on empowering others through small acts of service and kindness. I have realized that it is important for me to give back because this is one way I can make a positive impact on my community. Gunderman explains how giving a gift can imply concern for the recipient of the gift. He goes on to describe how a gift is not given just to satisfy the recipient, but to invest in their success. I look forward to seeing how my work this semester will invest in the success of an organization and my local community.