I have a secret to tell you… I have learned the secret to happiness. It is in helping others! My mom always told me that, and now I will have to let her know that she was right, again.
There is an old Chinese adage that says: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” Happiness is found in helping others.
Scientific research shows anecdotal evidence that giving is a powerful way to long-lasting happiness. Through MRI technology we can see that giving activates the same parts of the brain that are stimulated by food and sex. Evidence shows that altruism is hardwired in the pleasure senses of our brain. Helping others is a secret of living a life that is happier, healthier, wealthier, more productive, and meaningful.
Your Lenawee Community Foundation is only as successful as the community we serve. Although money is important to our success, without volunteers like you who believe in our mission and support our work, there would be no community foundation. With gifts of time and talent our community provides programs helping our friends, family, and neighbors.
Your Lenawee Community Foundation has wonderful volunteers – a Board of Directors, Lenawee Cares Advisory Board and committee members. Courtney Fry and Harper Sulier water plants and assemble board packets. Hunters donate venison for food pantries, with the Foundation paying for processing. Graham and Lois Fleming read thousands of scholarship applications and assist with selection. The Lenawee YOUTH Council pack weekend snacks and write (shh!) letters from Santa to preschool students. Many local businesses also volunteer with us.
To find your secret to happiness, find your passion. Make a gift of your time and talents. Each day is filled with 86,400 seconds. Take time to share your skills and abilities with others. Take time to find charities that serve your passions and values. Give to an organization or cause that is transparent and gets results. When you find passion and serve your values, the more you gain in purpose, meaning and happiness.
The key is to find the approach that fits us. When we do, then the more we give, the more we stand to gain purpose, meaning and happiness—all of the things that we look for in life but are so hard to find.
For more information on Your Lenawee Community Foundation, contact Paula Trentman, Vice President and Program Manager at the Lenawee Community Foundation at 423-1729.
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Paula Trentman is Vice President and Program Manager of the Lenawee Community Foundation
