Photo credit www.sxc.hu

I recently heard about the ‘Sharing Foundation‘ through my friend, Roger Carr’s ‘Everyday Giving Blog’ - and of a fundraiser (America’s Giving Challenge) they are doing to help children in Cambodia get education.

After making a donation (oh, and it would be great if you could help them too - click here to see how you can help), I heard from Beth Kanter who is helping with this project - and Beth posted a very nice blog about my own work for children with Congenital Heart Defects.

By following another link on Beth’s blog, I heard about Dr.Nancy Hendrie, a retired pediatrician in her 70’s who is the founder of ‘Sharing Foundation’!

It’s nice to connect with people involved in ‘giving’. I’m a part of a very supportive online community of over 600 people who have supported awareness and fundraising activities for congenital heart defects for many years.

And the experience has shown me there are many different things that influence ‘giving’. Economics. Geography. Religious beliefs. Personal philosophy. And culture.

What makes some people dig into their pockets to contribute money to help a nameless, faceless person who lives halfway across the globe - someone whom they have never met, and very likely never will?

It’s such a fascinating ‘mystery’. I’ve discussed this many times with my wife, friends and daughter.

It probably distills down to the influence of culture.

Giving as a part of our culture certainly influenced me during my formative years as a school-boy.

My grandma would always cook an extra measure of rice - to feed beggars who arrived at our doorstep at 2:30 p.m., after the household had eaten the mid-day meal. Watching curiously as she fed dozens of under-privileged people every day has most definitely left a lasting impact on my own choices to help as many people as I can.

Unfortunately, as the pace of life speeded up and technology/materialism intervened more actively in our days, a generation missed out on the ‘giving’ side of things - leaving a lacuna which now needs filling.

Giving is woven into Indian cultural heritage, just as I am sure it is into many other cultures. As the cycle comes around once more, giving is on the rise in India (Rs. 16 billion (US$34 million) annually) with the booming economy and increase in disposable family income. And hopefully the ‘learning by observation’ nurtured by cultural norms we grew up studying will govern the distribution of this new-found wealth.

‘Giving’ is embedded into many cultures. The extent to which it is codified and practiced in daily life however varies - and changes often. It is easy to let the pressures and rush of everyday activity push this intangible into the background - only to drag out and brush off on special occasions.

But as responsible members of society, a social fabric in which both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ co-exist in close proximity, we must remember that our generous behavior not only impacts the direct beneficiary of our giving - but also our children and grand-children who are watching and learning from us.

Keeping the culture of giving alive and handing the torch to future generation can be our most lasting legacy - and one which touches and improves humanity, makes the world a better place.