Impact of Philanthropic Activities

This semester I decided to immerse myself into philanthropy through taking part in a holiday program run by the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey. The Children’s Home Society is a nonprofit that aids at-risk families and children through providing a variety of services including but not limited to foster care, adoption, family support and school programs. Every year they have a holiday present project in which people can pick the name of a child from a family in need to buy a Christmas present for.

I picked a three-year-old girl named Zuzanna and shopped for a beginner’s tricycle and doll that she had asked for a long with a few essential items like a coat and gloves.

This was something that I greatly enjoyed taking part in. I have found that it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the holidays, especially living in a college town bubble, and forget that not everyone is able to enjoy this time of year. The holidays can be a time of stress for parents who cannot afford to give their children what they want and it can be confusing for a child to not understand why they are not getting what others might be. I think that this is an awesome program that the Children’s Home Society does because it helps alleviate some added stress from families and brings happiness to the kids who might not have gotten a Christmas present otherwise.

This is something that I would love to potentially bring back to my chapter; I think it would be something that is mutually beneficial for the philanthropic program and the sisters to take part in.