This week our class had the opportunity to go and visit the charities we chose to donate our money to. Unfortunately I was unable to go due to previously planned events. The class all had great things to say about the trip. Everyone was happy to see the money we donated was going to great things. We took our time to collect the money and choose our charities, and the charities were very grateful for our work. They expressed their gratitude to us and were very friendly to the class. Although I couldn’t be there, I still felt great to see our hard work and money went to great causes. Everything we did paid off and it feels great to give back.

Joe

Our group was really inspired by Bob and variety. We saw how amazing it was for him and how good philanthropy makes us feel. The bicycles are a very nice idea and really make a good gift for a child. We wanted to share the joy of bicycles with more children. We wanted to give all of our money towards this as we know the bikes are not cheap.

I thought our group, the healthy helpers, did very well. Working in groups was fun and easy. There were no fights or anything. We simply discussed our ideas and came to a decision.

Next week I think will be a big relief and a happy time. We will visit the charities and see all the good that they do. We can all relax and look at what we will be helping make happen.

Joe

I interviewed my grandmother because I see how important volunteering is in her life. She said that she has been volunteering for 40 years every year for voting in her town. I learned that it isn’t hard to give your time to a good cause. It’s very easy if you see something that needs help and you make a plan to help. We saw how easy it was to do our fundraiser once we had our plan together. Then we just took off and it went great.

Joe

During our panel discussion, we really showed the charities how much we care. I think we were very professional and the representatives reflected that. They each came in very prepared and knew a lot about their organizations. We could see that philanthropy means a lot to them as well. The decision process will be difficult because each company has shown themselves to be good.

Our fundraising is very well. We have surpassed our goal and are still going. It is definitely very fun going out and seeing the support the community has for you.

It is exciting seeing our community come together to help others. Everyone has supported the idea of donating the money to charity.

Joe

I really thought that looking at an organizations tax return was a good way to evaluate them. The tax returns are all public information so it is easy to get a hold of. It is also easy to calculate how much money really goes to their cause. Verbally talking to an organization could also get the job done. I would prefer to do both if possible to really get the best possible perspective.

I find it pretty easy to evaluate a non profit organization. The numbers are a great place to start to see what that company is doing and where the money is going. To a certain point it is hard to choose between multiple charities because they may be really using the money and doing great things with it.

Joe Sanborn

I learned that my organization, the Random Lake Area Interfaith Food Pantry, was a very good organization. It is all volunteer run and has no salaries. But they can only sustain themselves for 13 months because they rely on donations from a small area. It is import to look at numbers before you make a choice because some organizations look good for their cause but actually give very little to the cause.
-Danny Seitz

Our group really came together in making our purpose, vision, and mission statements. We have our goal and our way of achieving it. We are excited to see how well we can perform to help others in need while helping ourselves become better.

The organizations will be a new scenario for us but they will be very honored to be chosen by us. We all chose great organizations so it will be tough to choose just one or two.

Joe Sanborn

The MAD cards really showed our class how much we really care about others. We learned that each of us care about things and we may even want to help with the same things. I learned that many of us volunteer on a regular basis. I also learned what philanthropy means to me. I’m hoping to practice philanthropy in my life and have fun doing it with friends.