In a speech last year to graduating college students, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "I've always respected those who tried to change the world for the better, rather than just complain about it." He was speaking of his admiration for those who make it a life choice to donate time and resources in ways large and small to improve the world around them.
Mayors and leaders of all sorts see first hand the enormous value conferred upon a community by those who choose a course of philanthropy. That is certainly the case in Utah, where people who have made significant contributions to the public good will be recognized at an upcoming banquet to celebrate Utah Philanthropy Day.
The volunteers and benefactors who will be honored that day are not the kind of people who give in order to be recognized. They do it because they see the good it can do. They share their resources simply so others may benefit, and the fruits of their largesse are all around us.
There are buildings in our community that exist only because of that generosity. They include medical facilities, sports arenas, college classroom buildings, theaters, arts pavilions and neighborhood recreation centers. Some of them bear the familiar names of families and individuals who have made contributions to enhance the community.
Utahns are the nation's most generous with their time and money, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Here, people give nearly twice as much in monetary contributions to various causes than do those in any other state. More than 45 percent of Utahns volunteered service in some form or fashion in 2008, the last year the Chronicle measured. That compares to the second-place state — Nebraska — where 40 percent of residents served as volunteers.
Sharing of one's time, labor and resources is an ingrained value in our culture, and we are all better off because of it. The benefactors aren't always the fabulously wealthy, and the beneficiaries aren't always the extremely destitute. Acts of selflessness are often aimed at the few, but over time, they benefit the many. They build up a community, while, as Mayor Bloomberg pointed out, complaining about the state of affairs works only to tear apart a unity of purpose that a healthy society requires.
The honorees on Utah Philanthropy Day will continue to serve and donate with or without recognition. Commemorating their actions has value as a form of positive reinforcement, but in larger sense, it also serves as a statement of affirmation for the greater community that has come to embrace the virtue of giving.