没有什么比给予更有力量的了. 我们是否给予时间, 钱, 礼物或援助之手, 我们对他人生活的影响是无法估量的, 而我们得到的回报则更大.
To demonstrate the power of giving, the college worked with four students. We gave them each $100 and tasked them with giving the 钱 away. The students had complete control over how they gave and to whom. 让我们来看看他们的经历, 他们造成的影响, 以及他们对捐赠的态度是如何受到影响的.
表明感激之情
Shivani Brahmbhatt, class of 2023, knew right away how she wanted to give the 钱 away. The chemistry major had questioned whether she had what it takes to succeed. But two of her professors, Tracy Thompson, PhD, and Lauralee Guilbault, PhD, intervened.
“(特雷西)激励着我继续前进. She would check up on me every day and tell me to take as much time as I need,” says Brahmbhatt. “劳拉莉一直就像一个家庭成员. 她不遗余力地照顾她的学生. 我想回馈那些为我付出了太多的人.”
她的想法? 用午餐、鲜花和卡片给他们每个人一个惊喜. 梵天喜欢分享感谢的象征, 通常和食物一起, 但这是一个在另一个层面上表达感激的机会. “If you have the chance to do something little to show someone that they matter, 你注意到, 我认为这很棒,她解释道.
结果? 两位教授都由衷地感到惊讶和感激. “In that moment, they weren’t stressed; they weren’t worried. 他们只是在微笑，我也和他们一起微笑. 这是有影响的，”Brahmbhatt说. “我无法用语言来形容这种感觉有多好.”
慈善捐赠
凡妮莎伦德, 2024届毕业生, decided to donate the entire amount to Children’s Wisconsin 因为 she not only supports their focus on mental health but also 因为 she was once a patient. “我有私人关系, 所以对我来说, being able to give 钱 back to Children’s Wisconsin felt really good.”
在线捐赠也使这个过程变得简单, 如果不像给别人100美元那么让人满足的话. 隆德, 传播学专业, 知道有孩子和家庭需要帮助, and she believes that allowing the organization to allocate her funds will have a greater long-term impact.
“尽管我可能无法立即看到结果, I think just knowing that the 钱 is going to go to a good cause will make me feel good,她说。. “I feel gratified knowing that I could make a difference with the 钱 I got and put it towards a good cause.”
原因很重要
For Tania Hernandez Galvan, class of 2023, giving back to the community is something she values. As a public health major, she’s well aware of the disparities that exist in certain communities.
“我一直对与妇女和儿童一起工作很感兴趣. I feel like giving back to the community or just letting them know that someone does care is super important,她说。.
The most difficult part for Hernandez was deciding how to divide the 钱 among causes important to her. She ultimately bought pet supplies for the Wisconsin Humane Society, 密尔沃基LGBTQ社区中心的免费衣橱, and baby supplies for the Hispanic Health Resource Center in Waukesha, 她目前在哪里实习.
她的外卖? 给予比她想象的要容易得多, and she was surprised to learn just how many organizations need assistance. She also learned how much even the simplest gestures are appreciated.
“我们生活在一个快节奏的社会, 我忘记放慢脚步，只享受当下, 给我的家人和朋友时间,她说。. “成为别人的阳光就会有很长的路要走.”
随机的善举
贾奎林·莫雷诺·加莱戈斯, 2024届毕业生, 想尽可能多地传播快乐, so she decided to buy fresh flowers and hand them out to people on campus.
“我的爱的语言是送礼物, 因为我觉得那是我表达爱意的方式, 这对我来说意义重大，因为我能够给予别人,她说。, adding that she looked forward to creating one-on-one connections with friends and strangers.
The education major has been volunteering in her community for several years, 所以付出是很自然的. 她这个项目的目标? “I want to make somebody’s day, 因为 you never know what somebody is going through. 也许他们只需要一个陌生人给他们一朵花.”
最让她吃惊的是人们的反应.
“I thought people were going to be like, ‘Oh thank you,’ and walk away. But a lot of people were really sweet about it and asking questions like ‘Why are you doing this? 这是干什么用的??’这真的很酷，”她说. “I want to do something like this more often on my own or with other students. 我认为这将是一件很酷的事情.”
给予背后的心理学
那么是什么促使人们给予呢? Kris Vasquez, PhD, professor of psychology, says the reasons can vary.
“Sometimes we give 因为 we empathize so much with the distress of others that we can relieve our own suffering as well as theirs with a gift,她说。. “Sometimes we give as part of an implicit social pact: I'll give when I can, 我希望在我需要的时候有人能帮助我. If we have received help, we might give to pay it back or pay it forward. We give to people who seem to need help, and to those we think deserve help, however we define that. 我们付出是为了展示我们的价值观.”
而有些人则自由地付出时间, 金钱或其他资源, 还有一些人犹豫不决, oftentimes 因为 they believe what they have to offer somehow isn’t enough.
“Imagine that I only have a dollar to give and I find it embarrassing to give so little, 所以我什么都不给,瓦斯奎兹说。. “接受者是否更富有?? No. And if many people like me who have a dollar to give actually gave it, 这可能会给接受者带来很大的好处.”
隆德在回忆自己的经历时也有同感.
“I may not have a lot of 钱, but there are always other options like volunteering. There’s always some way that you can give back to others,她说。.
经验教训
We may all have different incentives for giving, but doing so makes us happy.
“人们从给予他人中获得持续的快乐,瓦斯奎兹说。, 学生们的经历证实了这一点.
“I learned that it truly does make me happy when I see other people smiling,” says Brahmbhatt. “This brought a lot of joy to me, and the joy you get from it is more than anything in this world.”
Hernandez Galvan受到了启发.
“It made me feel seen and it encouraged me to take more of my time to invest in these communities or these groups within my own community,她说。.
据Moreno Gallegos报道，这让她自我感觉良好.
“It’s so fulfilling, you get to feel joy 因为 you made someone’s day,她解释道. “You don’t really know what someone’s going through or what they have going on, 也许那件事会让他们一整天都开心.”
隆德补充说:“我认识到能够回馈社会的重要性。. “It doesn’t matter how much 钱 you have or how much you can give, 重要的是你在付出.”
All of the students involved indicated that they would like to continue giving, 是否到了他们的时代, 人才还是金钱. 赫尔南德斯·加尔文甚至把定期捐赠列入了她的计划, 因为, 正如她所说, “小小的善举真的会大有帮助.”
