Drinking from a Fire Hose

The very first session of the Main Street Philanthropy program at Harmony High School was like a 50-minute adrenaline rush!  I couldn't believe how fast the time flew by, and it was all good.

It was apparent from the minute the class started that these are exceptionally bright and energetic folks, every single one of them a leader.  My guess going in was that they would have little trouble taking on the role of "philanthropists in training," and I was right.

A big thank-you to Eric Hansen, the teacher, for explaining the program in advance.  His preparation made it possible to jump right in with a minimal amount of time spent on the mechanics.  It was obvious that the class really respects him and appreciates him for reaching out to bring important and exciting opportunities to them--including Main Street Philanthropy.

After a brief question and answer session, a quick pre-course assessment, and a short look at the history of philanthropy, we got to the meat of the first session:  using the Make a Difference ("MAD") cards to discover each student's areas of passion and concern.  (I have to say that I am so proud to share those cards with people because my daughter Elisabeth Farnsworth Cohen of Wilson, NC, painted the beautiful cards for us.  Thanks, Elisabeth, great talent.)

Now back to the class.  Working in pairs, the students had to zero in on their top 6 areas of concern, and then narrow that to their Final 3, then explain to their partner why they chose those.  I could tell that for many of them, they wanted to make a difference in so many areas and their hearts are so big and generous and it was very difficult to choose one over the other.  But what a valuable life lesson: sometimes we must make hard choices in order to make the greatest difference.

These choices will allow these budding philanthropists to focus their efforts on those areas of need and concern that are most important to them individually.  They will also be used to help form their small groups in which they will do much of their work for the next seven weeks. 

It was, in short, a wonderful start to what is shaping up to be a exceptional experience for all.  Thanks, guys.