It’s a dream to have a happy life, if you’ve one, consider yourself to be lucky. Life is quite hard for some people because of inaccessibility for everyday human needs. Everyone has the right to live and enjoy their lives but are restricted by affordability and other circumstances.
If you’re willing to help, then consider philanthropy by donating some money and time for people who need it. However, it doesn’t have to money every time. Simple gestures like raising voice for unheard, spending some at the orphanage, can help you become a philanthropist.
Don’t confuse it with charity because it’s about monetary help, while a philanthropist focuses on human welfare. Bill Gates is known to be the biggest philanthropist of the world, due to his generous donations. Here’s how to make a difference in society as a philanthropist.
Promote Education
In developing countries, the government has failed to offer free education due to which the illiteracy ratio is quite high. It’s the 20th century, and yet children are unable to get their fundamental right to education. If anyone who wishes to walk the path of literacy needs hefty amounts of money. But don’t you think that ‘education is for all.’
As a philanthropist, donating for education would have a more significant impact on society than anything else. Not just this generation, but it secures the future of coming generations too! Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, an Indian billionaire philanthropist, funded many schools in India.
Of course, if you can’t start with something big, then you might be familiar with the idea of street schools. There are popular all over the world. Begin with a street school in your area – all the street children would get to learn something, if not everything. And even if you’re able to teach them something, it would make a massive difference to the whole society.
Access to free medicines and HealthCare
Philanthropists are working for human well-being. Health facilities are in dreadful conditions in many countries. If you turn up to a news channel, you’ll see approximately 5 million people die every year due to lack of medical facilities.
Bill Gates is one of the most generous philanthropists has promoted the concept of free medicines, through ‘The Gates Foundation,’ it has saved approximately 50 million lives. These people are enough to set examples for youth.
If you’re not a doctor yourself, then talk to friends who are doctors. Think about opening a healthcare campaign for just a single day every month. You along with your friends would get done some basic medical tests for all the people, that are free of cost. This won’t cost an arm, all you need is some equipment and a place for the campaign.
Spreading awareness
Standing against the cruel and wrong is a call for justice. As a philanthropist, you can raise your voice against oppression, violence, or child labor. For child labor, you can create awareness about how children need to be in schools rather than working on streets and support. You can upgrade your abilities as a social worker through an online MSW degree, which introduces you to macro and micro aspects of social work practices.
You can promote ideas to reduce child labor, following how Japan started paying children pocket money for going to school. Yes, instead of charging them, you give it to them, so they’re able to support their families without the need to work. Similarly, you can spread awareness against domestic violence and other social issues.
Support and Develop Orphanages
It’s nothing less than trauma to grow up without parents. All the children at orphanages need constant support because they have been deprived of love. So why not visit an orphanage on your days off. This small gesture of kindness from your side can light up their whole day.
Or if you plan on doing something big, then you can follow the footsteps of J.K Rowling’s Lumos. He has developed an organization that helps all the children in orphanage worldwide. By help, we refer to, fulfilling their needs and want to provide them with better living standards.
Support Unpopular opinions
Usually, you come across some insanely accurate stuff, but not everyone knows that. Being a philanthropist, you can make a difference by supporting what needs attention. For instance – Aaron Diamond Foundation spent millions creating awareness about HIV aids while helping people suffering from it.
Similarly, many women were unaware of breast cancer, due to which philanthropist stood up for awareness programs. These topics had a social stigma attached due to which they never received enough attention. If you want to support unpopular opinions in today’s world, spread awareness about menstruation hygiene, mental health, child abuse. All this can definitely make a difference to society.
Conclusion
Being a philanthropist, you are not answerable to anyone. You work for human welfare and do what’s best for them. Often times, some issues don’t receive enough attention. Being a philanthropist, it’s your duty to voice them out. In small or big, there are many ways you can make a difference in society as a philanthropist.
