A Small Amount, A Big Impact

By: Blair

Blair is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

I learned this week in our financial literacy lesson that the extra money we spend on eating out, buying toys, and living through our daily lives adds up to a lot of money. Money that goes a long way in other people’s lives across the world. I realized this week that most people who live comfortably in our world with little to no financial problems don’t know how much of an impact even a dollar can do. People all over the world live in so much poverty that even a dollar could help them get enough food for their family. If we as a society realize how much extra money we spend on items we don’t even need and instead donate them to these hungry and starving kids, the impact would probably be as big as having almost every kid in poverty go to bed every night with a full belly. I encourage every person in the world to stop and think about if you really need this pointless item you are about to buy, and the impact it would have on others if you donated the money to charity instead of buying the item.  

"I am a catalyst for good
because...I will improve the
basic education around
the world" - Blair

ELP Elmhurst class brainstorming.

ELP Elmhurst class teacher 
Jeanne leads discussion.

Lessons in Philanthropy: Types of Foundations

By: Nathaniel

Nathaniel is a participant in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Evanston location.

The ELP Evanston class sharing why they are Catalysts for Good.

My name is Nathaniel in the AfG Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy, and I will talk to you to say about community foundations. Foundations are non profits. A non profit is a establishment not for profit. There are many foundations such community foundation which I will be covering today, corporate foundation, family foundation, independent foundation, operating foundation, and a private foundation.

"I am a Catalyst for Good because...
I will save endangered puppies and animals."
- Nathaniel

A community foundation is a organization that helps a certain community or a religion. Money is taken from endowments and uses to make grants that will sever the community. I was surprised that the Bill and the Melinda Gates wasn't a family foundation but instead a private foundation because the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a non governmental, non profit dedicated to help people and making scholarships and grants to people and companies that will help/change  the world. The activity  taught me the grant making process how people applied for grants and how companies divides and then decides to pay the full grant or pay for a part of the grant or veto the grant entirely. Evanston has a community foundation called The Evanston Community Foundation or ECF for short. Evanston can thrive by making grants to certain people or companies that are dedicated to Evanston and its people.These people and companies can sponsor activities that help the community by cleaning up the streets or doing a bake sale that the money is donated to Evanston. That money can be used to fixed the parks in Evanston, make sure that public spaces are a safe environment, clean up the neighborhoods around ETHS. There is a lot to do to help Evanston thrive, but it will happen and Evanston will remain to be a great suburb.

Making Everyone Feel Part of the Community

By: Matthew

Matthew Miller is an 8th grader at Sandburg Middle School. He is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

I have volunteered at my local PADS shelter at my synagogue, Access Sports for 3 years, and a summer camp called Service Squad, which involved a different service project each day. I have also volunteered at Feed My Starving Children a number of times. 

ELP Elmhurst class led by Jeanne.

"I am a catalyst for good because...
all children have a right to
primary education." - Matt Miller

My passion is working/playing with children in our community that have disabilities. I feel it is somewhat our duty to make them feel like they are one of us. Access Sports (out of Elmhurst) gives these kids the opportunity to play, and the opportunity for those who want to help, to help. You can sign up for one sport over one season, and each week you choose a kid to work with. You start off by working on skills, and then at the end there is a game. I have done this for 3 years now, and I plan to do it for much longer. These kids love to play, and it makes them feel a part of the community. There is a kid in my grade with Down Syndrome, that some of my friends and I love to work with and play with. We would switch off in gym class to play with him, and the smile on his face makes all of our days. The feeling of making someone feel special or just happy can make you feel the same way. 

In the future, I plan on volunteering at a Special Ed class and helping out there for a while, and also help out as much as I can around my community. A cause that I support is that all the kids, with disabilities or not, should all feel like they are worth the same amount in their community.

Catalysts for Good: Raising Awareness

By: Madeleine

Maddie is a participant in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Evanston location.

Through our discussions on human rights and the sustainability development goals, I was able to learn more about how the UN and other governmental bodies approach human rights abuses around the world. The sustainable development goals, created by the UN, were surprisingly optimistic and confident. However, I believe that these aspirations, although they are a significant step towards preventing and ending human rights abuses, need to provide further comprehensive steps in order to complete the goals they outline. Although they provide various statistics and goals surrounding the issue at hand, realistic preventative methods are needed to further their aspirations. I also thought it was very interesting and innovative how the UN develops new and improved goals as global problems change, and the world’s focus shifts.

ELP Evanston class focusing on a new lesson.

I am very passionate about refugee resettlement and outreach programs, specifically within Chicago. This year, I have been working with a friend at the Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago, an amazing non-profit that provides refugee resettlement resources, English classes, tutoring programs, and a multitude of other services to the refugee and immigrant population in Chicago. I have been able to raise awareness about this issue by connecting my classmates and peers with ECAC through the after-school program at the center, and giving presentations on the issues refugees in Chicago face to my teachers and classmates. I can continue to spread awareness on the refugee crisis by learning more about the assimilation process in school and through the center, as well as engage my community and friends with organizations like ECAC in the future. 

ELP Evanston class in discussion.

For my Global Awareness Project, I want to focus on a different issue. Sofie and I are going to focus on hunger and accessibility to food, and have begun the process to gather and donate all leftover lunch food from our school’s cafeteria (that isn’t sold). The food will be donated to Breaking Bread Ministries, which holds soup kitchens every week, near our school. The food will be donated daily, after all lunch periods, and will help to support the church’s important efforts to lessen hunger within the Chicago area.