Giving is Good for Us
Arden Courts of Sarasota
For more information about the author, click to view their website: Arden Courts
Mar 25, 2022
Florida - Sarasota, Bradenton & Charlotte Counties
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My parents were solid, middle-class wage earners who later devoted their free time to cleaning the church and sitting on the non-profit board of a local housing authority. When not with their grandchildren, they spent their remaining months and years serving communion to the infirmed and working the Election Day polls. In their small community, they experienced the immediate impact they could make by donating their time and energy to a good cause.
There has never been a greater opportunity to give of our resources, whether they are based on money, our gifts, or our time. How can we know what kind of mark we leave behind on each other and on our communities?
Giving of Ourselves
As a caregiver for my mother over a six-year-period, she and I often struggled through her more difficult transitions from one phase of memory loss to another. There also existed many beautiful moments when I felt grounded in her presence, connected to humanity.
We all experience this shiver of unexpected, good tidings when we help someone with their groceries. When we give directions to someone who is confused and upset. Last week, dropping off dinner for my husband working overnight, a woman called out to me in the parking garage. Her temples rose in alarm while she tried to find the hospitals visitor entrance which had been shifted due to new protocols. Speaking over the heavy rain, I pulled her underneath my umbrella as she told me her mother had been hospitalized for heart surgery. She thanked me for the gift of cover. But she had given me the gift in trusting I was the right person to hold her story and the umbrella.
After my mother died, I missed my time with her. It had given me purpose and grounded me in a way my other volunteer work of serving on boards for our city's performance hall or a writing center had not. In my giving, I try to return to that moment of care, of that magic when your work is the key to opening a heart. Giving is Living According to the National Institute on Aging's study, American's Changing Lives, which has followed a population of adults since 1986 to research social, psychological, and behavioral factors in health, there's such thing as a helpers high. Much like the runners high, when an athlete experiences a sense of euphoria as their endorphins are released into the body, a similar action occurs when we give. Individuals who volunteered their time experienced lower rates of depression and blood pressure, and lower rates of heart disease. For Tristen Inagaki, a neuroscientist at San Diego State University who studies our caregiving systems, she's not surprised that more kindness translates to better well-being. Humans are extremely social, we have better health when we are interconnected, and part of being interconnected is giving, she says.
My parents and others of their generation understood the value of aiding a friend. In a period when we have all been isolated and are feeling the depression of winter or additional shutdowns, reaching out to help is one sure way through this darkness. The next generation is finding other ways. The Next Generation of Giving
For this next age group of givers, known as Generation Impact, the pandemic accelerated their push into a new kind of giving. They are louder with their money. Were learning, that's what a lot of this is for us, Joe Malcoun, an Ann Arbor philanthropist, said, noting he and his wife are relatively new donors who founded a venture to back restaurants during their shutdowns. There's a massive overlap coming of social and political issues, and contributions affecting social issues. That intersection is very important. Their generation wants to be more vocal than the quieter work of handing out supplies at the food pantry or delivering meals to seniors who live at home. They want to ensure we eradicate food insecurity, no matter the poverty level or living situation.
For whatever reason, our generation is very much trying to find a way to live our values, says Joe.
We each have our reasons for giving. My parents gave back to a small town that supported their business and their children. I gave back to my mother who cared for my son while I was a single mom. And for those outside our neighborhood or circle of care who have been unseen in the past, technology and new ways of thinking allow us to give globally while also caring for those close to home.
Annette Januzzi Wick is a writer, speaker, and author of I will Have Some of Your's, a journey of cookies and caregiving(Three Arch Press)and is a recipient of a 2020 NSNC award. A frequent contributor toCincinnati.com, her work has appeared in Cincinnati Magazine, nextavenue.com, Shanti Arts, 3rd Act Magazine, and others. Visit annettejwick.com to learn more.
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