philanthropy

[mek42]

I'm trying to give something each week. Sometimes I forget and I elected not to in the week I only worked 4 hours.

So far, my major recipients are a scholarship fund that a professor I respect (translation, a professor that I regularly cussed at mentally for all those less than trivial homework assignments) and a Franciscan retreat center where I spent a bit of time at while at a different college.

As I write this, I find myself wondering whether donating to OpenSource projects such as OpenSUSE or OpenOffice would be considered philanthropic giving (in the spiritual sense not so much the tax code sense). My conclusion is that this is a decision that the giver must decide for themselves.

What sorts of giving have other folks been doing?

[pollypurebred39]

Local food pantry
Missions-provides food, clean water, education, etc.
Several missionary families
Youth group
American Bible Society
SPCA

On a personal level

We've provided Christmas for 2 families. 1 with 8 children for the last 17 years, and for the last 3 years a family with 2 children where the father was murdered.