Spring and summer bring the opportunity for fresh starts- to our workout routines, to our eating habits and even to our spending habits. What about our philanthropic habits? With longer days filled with more hours of sunshine there is more time for volunteering, self-reflection and giving back to our communities.
To help you find the motivation to start your summer of giving off right, here are 10 inspirational quotes:
1. “Now is the time…to give back. Consider the good things in your life: family, friends, loved ones, achievements. We have so much for which we should be grateful. Whenever you can, return the favor: give something back. Support your community or school, or those who helped along the way. They’ll be validated and encouraged. You’ll be gratified.” – Patrick Lindsay, “Now Is the Time: 170 Ways to Seize the Moment”
2. “Self-reflection is the key to identifying what you stand for, what your values are, and what matters most.” – Harry Kraemer, “From Values to Action”
3. “Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.” – Gregory Boyle, “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion”
4. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank, “The Diary of a Young Girl“
5. “We could choose to wall ourselves off and live only at lightning speed, self-absorbed and unwilling to work together to build a better society. Or we could choose to unlock our doors and appreciate the fact that people are naturally and overwhelmingly kind and generous and want to help other people.” – Allison H. Fine, “Matterness: What Fearless Leaders Know about the Power and Promise of Social Media”
6. “In the struggle for social justice, impatience is essential.” – John Gardner (1912-2002)
7. “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” – Nelson Mandela
8. “Some communities are failing those who don’t fit the mold.” – Anonymous , taken from discussion on race and racism at Family Action Network event, Evanston Public Library
9. “When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, Yes, this is how I ought to feel.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner, “Wisdom for the New Millennium: A Helen Exley Giftbook”
10. “What the American people hope—what they deserve—is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories, different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared: a job that pays the bills; a chance to get ahead; most of all, the ability to give their children a better life.” – President Barak Obama, State of the Union Address, Jan. 27, 2010
