Hannah impressed me the first time we met. My interview with her revealed why. Although I’ve known Hannah for some time as her youth group advisor, our conversation introduced me to all the great work she is doing in our community. I bet you’ll be impressed by this 16-year-old’s contributions too.
Deborah: How do you define philanthropy?
Hannah: Philanthropy is giving back to your community or causes that need help and making a personal sacrifice whether it be time or money or your energy put into it.
D: How are you engaging in philanthropy?
H: I am part of NCL, National Charity League, and we have a bunch of philanthropies that we help. I like to volunteer through that. I’m also in BIRTY [Beth Israel Reform Temple Youth group] and so we have our social action project, which is Save Our Shores. We help benefit the program by doing beach clean ups or bake sales and help raise money to raise awareness for them.
D: Tell me more about NCL and the different organizations you work with.
H: We have a list of philanthropies that we do with them, such as the SPCA, Project Linus, the Salvation Army, Operation Yellow Ribbon, Dorothy’s Kitchen, Nancy’s Project, Habitat for Humanity, and a lot more. NCL provides opportunities for you to help those programs. They have a website where you can check for events they are having or help they need in the community through local branches. It’s really fun. You do it with your classmates. And it’s a mother daughter organization, so you can do it with your mom. It’s good bonding and good for the community.
D: What has been your favorite experience with NCL?
H: More recently I started volunteering for the SPCA. I don’t have a lot of time during my week, but I go on Sundays and I help out there. I walk the animals, care for them, clean up after them. It’s really fun because I love the animals. It’s a fun way to spend time and be able to help them. I’ve been working with them for a month now.
D: How long have you been working with NCL?
H: Since seventh grade. Three years.
D: You’re the President this year?
H: Yes.
D: What sort of responsibilities do you have as President?
H: I make up agendas for our monthly meetings and make sure everyone does their jobs. For example, there’s a secretary, treasurer, people who bring recognition to the charities, and advertise for upcoming events.
D: How many people are in NCL?
H: There’s 7th through 12th grades [represented] and about 15-20 girls per class. And their moms.
D: And the chapter has girls from all over the area?
H: Yes. You meet a lot of people and it’s fun.
D: What are you looking forward to for the rest of the year with NCL?
H: We had a fun event recently where we went to the SPCA and made sock toys for cats. We filled [the sock] with catnip, fluff, and put a bell at the bottom and tied them up. We got to visit with the animals afterward. We do philanthropic activities for our meetings sometimes. We made placemats for Meals on Wheels once. We do activities that we can do after or during our meeting.
D: So you meet once a month with your board. How often do you meet as a whole group?
H: We have events once every four months or so. We have an Enrichment Day where a speaker will come and talk about anything that’s pressing for women and being active. There’s a Philanthropy Day where we get together in a gym and set up different stations where you can do philanthropies. So that’s fun. And then we have an etiquette practice too when we have teas. That’s interesting.
D: Are there other people you’re engaging in philanthropy with?
H: There’s also philanthropy through school [Santa Catalina]. We do the Child Fund and we have certain children that we sponsor through school and we help them raise money for their basic needs like food and shelter and clothing. We raise money as a school to help them.
D: Nice, so you’re doing things with your classmates, youth group, and your mom.
H: As a family, we have a tzedakah box in the kitchen where we put our loose coins and we plan to donate it to charity when we fill it up.
D: You and your brother get to choose?
H: Uh huh. So we get to choose and we have to count it up and put it in the rolls [to take to the bank] and we’re kind of in charge of that. So last time we got $60 from one tissue box [their tzedakah box], which was pretty cool.
D: Where did you give your money the last time?
H: We haven’t decided yet.
D: About how long would you say it takes you to save up $60 in loose change?
H: Six months maybe.
D: So everyone contributes.
H: Yes, it’s easy. If you just have a bunch of change sitting around or you go to the store and get extra change, you put it in there and it adds up.
D: How would you say you learned about philanthropy?
H: I’ve always been influenced by school in terms of philanthropy. I went to All Saints and they are very into philanthropy and charities and outreach as they called it. I remember “bean bagging” or bagging beans and Nancy Costello delivered it. We would do food drives and clothing drives. And we were connected with a school in Haiti, so we would raise money to buy them goats and wells for fresh water.
D: What do you like best about giving?
H: I like that I get to make a positive impact in someone’s life and that what I’m doing is not just making me feel better, but also making a difference with other people.
D: So how does giving make you feel?
H: It makes me feel good. Being Jewish, you’re encouraged to do good to others and so it makes me feel like a good person and I like helping people.
D: If you could fulfill a philanthropic dream, what would it be?
H: I think everyone should have the basic necessities of life—food, water, shelter, clothing—because without those you can’t really survive or do anything else beyond trying to find things for survival. So I think that to get anyone who can those basic needs. And once those are satisfied, you can work on other things.
Until I met Hannah, I was not familiar with National Charity League. If you’re a mother and looking for ways to bond with your daughter and give back to the community, this sounds like a great opportunity! If you’re local, you might just meet Hannah and her mom!
