A Flap of the Wing

Your only goal in giving is to make an impact.

Image by: Michael Baird

My daughter asked me this morning if it’s possible to make money from her art. She’s 14 now and has been through a full year of art school. I tell her “of course you can make money with your art. Anything is possible.” I say those words and she believes me. I’ve repeated those same words to her since she was able to talk. My next step was to buy her a camera, get in touch with some of my creative friends and ask if they would be willing to mentor my daughter. Each of them enthusiastically said yes.

I recently read that Chance the Rapper pledged $1 million to help save public schools in Chicago, which are facing a pitfall of over $200 million. Without reaching that figure, these schools are facing closure and potentially 400,000 students would instantly become dropouts. Even more recently, I heard an interview with Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman, Michael Bennett, who said he is donating all of his endorsement money to help both minority women and minority communities as a whole. Bennett says he expects the sum to be in the range of $400,000, and will also donate half of his jersey sales.

No doubt that both of these celebrities are aiming to make a direct impact to their immediate community. They not only have the platform, but they also have the funds to ignite serious change. It’s commendable.

What’s also commendable are my friends taking the time to mentor my daughter. Neither of them have millions of dollars, nor do they have endorsement deals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the impact they will have on my daughter will be just as profound as these celebrities making six and seven figure donations. That’s because the end result is the same. Hope.

That is what is at stake here. My daughter’s hope will be reinforced by working with these artists. She will see that anything truly is possible. If and when Chance and Bennett get to make good on their promises, many more people will experience the same feeling of hope. It’s this hope that drives us to keep going. It’s an unexplainable spark that can set in motion an infinite cycle of inspiration.

I really think we need to reevaluate how we think about charity. We need to reevaluate how we think about giving in general. The point of giving is to help empower those who do not have the same opportunities as you enjoy right now. It’s providing a boost to someone or to a specific group who, through no fault of their own, are limited in their ability to provide for themselves.

By giving their time to help mentor my daughter, my friends have embarked on a sort of philanthropy. They have empowered someone who could not have gotten that experience without them stepping in. And in return, they ask nothing. In return, I expect when my daughter has gone through this experience, that she share her time and knowledge with another young girl looking to do the same thing. And I’m not even saying that my daughter will go on to be a successful artist. What I’m saying is that she will know it is possible.

It is through this cycle that lives are changed. It is through changing the conversations with your children that minds become open. Your impact starts with those around you, those who you interact with on a daily basis. Look to see how you can uplift any of those people first, because that is where your impact will be most powerful.

Let the people who can donate money donate their money. Your duty is to donate for impact. If we can wrap our minds around this concept, I truly believe it will go a long way to improving our communities, which in turn will improve our cities until the impact is felt across the globe. It takes one flap of the wing to cause a typhoon. It’s time we all break free from our cocoons and spread our wings as wide as we can.

Originally published at coligo.co on May 15, 2017.

A Flap of the Wing was originally published in C.R.Y on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.