Inspired Philanthropist Project

Philanthropy is a vital part of society that aids those in need. Nonprofit and philanthropy organizations are the backbone of the world. Therefore, supporting philanthropies and being financially and philanthropically independent is vital to life as an adult. By being independent in both areas, one can achieve all the goals they have set and more and are also being an actively contributing member of society. This website reveals how I intend to become both financially and philanthropically independent and the importance of this. 

I developed a love of philanthropy from a young age. One person who sparked my love of philanthropy was a mentor from high school named Mercy. Every Wednesday night, Mercy led a homework club in an impoverished apartment complex for students who struggled in school and were socioeconomically disadvantaged. She also provided a free dinner for these students and tried to teach them as many life skills as possible. Mercy passed on her love of helping others to me. Every Wednesday night, she was making a difference. I worked with her for 5 years, becoming close with her and the students. Watching her change all these young lives with such a passion instilled a passion in me for helping others. My mother also instilled a deep appreciation for helping others at a young age. As a young child, my mom would have our family help with outreach events our church put on, giving food to those who were hungry, and encouraged us to volunteer often. My mom worked as a social worker, allowing my sisters and I to see firsthand the important work she was doing and the impact she had on others’ lives. 

Within my lifetime, I hope to draw attention and promote education on environmental issues. Many people do not realize the impact of climate change and are not knowledgeable about it. I want to draw attention to the issues climate change causes and urge people to reduce their carbon footprints as well as educate themselves on it more. This might become more feasible if I actively try to change legislation surrounding climate change.

 

I became a vegetarian almost 8 years ago when I saw a video of how they treat animals in slaughterhouses. As this was middle school and I was often made fun of, I decided to research vegetarianism more. While researching, I became aware of the multitude of environmental issues caused by mass agricultural farming. This is what originally sparked my interest in environmentalism. As the years went on, I became more and more educated on environmental issues and am currently an Environmental Science major.  There are countless causes behind climate change. Big companies and factories contribute to growing carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Mass agricultural farming of animals such as cows adds methane to the atmosphere. Our consumerist society also heavily contributes as we use things a few times and throw it away, creating excess waste that is burned or thrown into landfills. Transportation heavily contributes as well, especially traveling by plane. Large cities create a lot of pollution which also worsens climate change. 

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My goal is to have greater education on climate change and hopefully change legislation regarding pollution and waste. This would ultimately lower climate change issues. Long term, I want people to know that environmental issues are scientific, become more knowledgeable about them, and ideally have America become carbon neutral. Short term, implementing more education on environmental issues in school would be beneficial. Also, changing legislation and becoming carbon neutral are goals that will take years. Having America slowly switch over to more electrically powered items rather than gas powered would help. The idea that climate change is a radical left party concept will need to change to lessen and even reverse climate change. There will need to be policies put into place to reduce emissions companies release. America will also have to build other types of sustainable energy to use less fossil fuels. 

 

Like many prominent issues, climate change can’t be solved in a day. But through acting quickly and intentionally, the drastic negative effects can be significantly lessened. I hope to further my philanthropic legacy through implementing change regarding the public view around climate change as well as legislation. For more information about climate change, What Is Climate Change has a great article to review.