Joshua Rhodes from Great.com interviewed Family Giving Tree as part of their 'Great.com Talks With...' podcast. This series is an antidote to negative news stories that aims to shed light on organizations and experts whose work is making a positive impact on the world.
More than four hundred thousand underprivileged kids live in the Bay Area of California. Families from some of the region’s poorest neighborhoods find themselves isolated, disenfranchised and in a world far from the glitz and glamor California is known for. Jennifer Cullenbine discussed the importance of caring for these families.
A Small Gift Goes A Long Way
Family Giving Tree runs two programs for poor Bay Area families. Many kids miss out on the magic of the giving season while their peers receive Christmas gift; The Holiday Wish Drive involves asking impoverished kids what they want from Santa and bringing it to them for Christmas.
The Back-to-School Drive is about donating basic school supplies such as pencils, school books and backpacks. A good education is the number one way to break the cycle of poverty; equipping these children helps them fit in at school and makes their educational journey smoother.
Jennifer explained that Family Giving Tree’s real value lies in its powerful emotional impact. These gestures show that we care about poorer families, value them as part of our community and are willing to give our time and our resources to help them.
Listen to the whole interview to hear about Family Giving Tree’s journey to success and how one lucky phone call helped us get off the ground. Family Giving Tree also welcomes donations, which so far have put a smile on two million kids’ faces.
Great.com is an organization that generates money for climate research. Why climate change? Because they believe that the climate crisis is the biggest threat facing humanity right now. How do they generate money? By moving revenue they earn directly as an advertiser for the New Jersey online gambling industry. Why online gambling? This is a wealthy industry with endless opportunities for profit, and they believe it would be better to take this money and put it towards a great cause — like climate research — instead of going to already wealthy casino owners. Find out more about their unique business model
