The Art of Giving
By: Neil Siskind
www.siskindlawfirm.com
www.neilsiskindsupports.com
http://neilsiskind.com/

 

Charity, in its simplest sense, is about giving to those in need without any expectation of getting anything in return. Charity comes in many forms. People give their time, their services and money in the name of charity.

While we see many fundraisers and not-for-profit campaigns to raise money, the hardest thing to do is give of yourself- your time, your emotional commitment and your human touch. This is the hardest way to give. This is not to say that giving of one’s hard-earned money is not commendable if done for the right reasons, but it is easier to donate money you have, than to give your personal efforts, regardless of your net worth.

Giving is not a science. It is an art. Some people have the innate ability and desire to help those in need. Most people find it hard to make a commitment of their time and personhood on a regular basis. As with any other skill or effort, the ability to give of yourself does not come easy to everyone.

I have given countless hours of myself to others- including cancer patients, children in need, senior citizens, striving entrepreneurs, people with financial distress in need of cost-effective legal help, public schools, and aspiring artists in financial distress. It is not easy- but I commit my own business and personal time to these efforts because it seems the right thing to do. Certain people are compelled to help others if they can. I do not say this to be self-congratulatory, but rather to be descriptive of the challenge and art of giving. Some of us are in the fortunate position to be able to dedicate time and service to others. I actually had one case over the years where I gave enormous amounts of my free time and skills to someone who was financially destitute only to have him turn on me for not helping him enough and attack me personally and spread lies about me to others. It was heartbreaking. Some people to whom you give become expert at the art of taking. They just demand more. Of course, the first reaction is, “Why do I bother?”. Why help anyone if no good deed goes unpunished? But you can’t stop giving because of one ungrateful person when you are needed by countless others. It’s not fair to the others. Again, the mission of giving is innate. So one is compelled to carry on with the mission.

The Fatherhood Assignment is about encouraging people to give time and energy to those less fortunate than themselves. We do not raise money- we raise hopes. The goal of The Fatherhood Assignment is to inspire people to play a small role that could impact a youth in a big way. If you are only good at giving money- The Fatherhood Assignment is not for you. We need people to give time, hope and love to others in need. Clicking “like” on a posting about a charity is not enough. It’s not even close to enough. You have to actually give something that money can’t buy………compassion.