Our first assignment in Mainstreet Philanthropy was to fill a brown paper bag with objects that were important to us.  When I went home I had no idea what I was going to bring, what did I hold dear to me that would fit in this tiny bag?  But when the time came I knew exactly what I wanted to bring.  i brought a green penguin keychain.  This keychain was  given to me in the fourth grade by my best friend, she loved that keychain!  So I kept it safe with me.  I also bought a rock that looked like an eye, I would always see this eye and I found it weird so I kept it.

The day we shared our paper bag items we also had to come up with statements that represented what our team was all about.  To say what we were going to do, why we were going to do it, and who we were doing it for.  But what is my team hoping to accomplish?  Our goal is provide certified and qualified assistance for autistic children in the classrooms.

To achieve this we are beginning to research organizations that have this common goal, but I don't know quite what we should expect.  Its going to be intimidating at first but if these organizations are in it for the cause then there will be no intimidation afterwards and that is what I hope:)

In class we had a guest speaker, he was talking to us about philanthropy.  "What is philanthropy?" I, along with others, asked myself.   He explained to us that philanthropy was the love of humanity, he said that we would embark on a project that would make us understand this definition to the fullest.  He gave us MAD (Make a Difference) Cards, these cards displayed various causes and ideas on charities that went along with this cause.

I learned that there were so many causes that really interested me and narrowing i down to 3 was very difficult.  At the end the decision was made and I was satisfied with the decisions I made, I am excited to be researching and writing about these.  

I hope that I learn the real job of a philanthropist and come to be one by the time the Main Street Philanthropy Program is over.  I hope that the way I begin to view others motivates others to join me on my journey.