Give Five is a campaign begun in 1987 to encourage people to give five hours a week and 5 percent of their income to the causes and charities of their choice. Through nonprofit organizations, religious institutions, or simply by helping a neighbor or friend in need. Initiated by Independent Sector, Give Five has spread its message over the years through a series of public service announcements on television and radio, billboard displays, and magazine and newspaper ads. The thin red "pie piece" of the Give Five logo stands for the segment of your time and income that you are encouraged to contribute to the nonprofit effort, with the majority of the circle indicating what you have left over.

Thomas Cannon is a retired postal clerk who has given over $96,000 in the form of $1,000 checks to individuals in need although the most he has ever earned in his life is $32,000. He gives money to strangers, most of whose good works he reads about in the newspaper. "I give money away to reward and inspire those who work selflessly for others," he says.

Today Give Five seeks to motivate people to give five or increase their giving to whatever cause they support. If you can find five hours of your time a week for a soup kitchen, literacy program, or museum, that's wonderful! If you can spare five percent of your income to support a drug rehabilitation center or a neighborhood beautification project, that's great! There is no donation too small or insignificant to be helpful. A neighbor taking the time to visit a shut-in can be as important as a large research grant from a large foundation. If you have three days a month to volunteer for a youth program, or $200 to donate to your local hospital renovation, or only ten minutes to make a call on behalf of your children's school fundraising committee -- those are all terrific contributions to causes that matter. All that matters is that you give what you can, in whatever way you can -- and think about increasing that giving, if you can.

Participate in the Tradition of Giving and Volunteering
America is a nation of volunteers and contributors, from the first public libraries and volunteer fire companies begun by Benjamin Franklin to those compassionate souls who joined Clara Barton's new Red Cross in the 1860s. The voluntary spirit continues to thrive in present-day America, even in a society where there is much to discourage open-handedness and compassion. Generosity and the public spirit are demonstrated by the citizens who volunteer to serve on their local school board, by the teenagers who clean up parks and playgrounds, by the elderly woman hand-making a quilt for her local library fundraiser. Recent surveys show that:

• Approximately 83.9 million American adults volunteer annually -- that's 44 percent of all adults.
  
• Volunteers contribute an average of 3.6 hours per week, totaling 15.5 billion hours with an estimated dollar value of $239.2 billion.
  
• 59 percent of teenagers volunteer an average of 3.5 hours per week -- that's 13.3 million volunteers totaling 2.4 billion hours at a total value of $7.7 billion.
  
• 89 percent of American households make a contribution to one or more charitable organizations. The average gift of contributing households is $1,620, or 3.1 percent of income. Individual Americans give a total of almost $212 billion to charitable and community causes.

The nonprofit sector cannot take the place of government programs, nor can it single-handedly cure the ills and disparities of society. But each of us can make a difference in a small way, in our own sphere, and can find ways to help that will make our efforts worth the time and trouble we invest in them.

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