Mark Zuckerberg has just being named Time Magazine's person of the year of 2010.
He is only 26 years old, founder and CEO of Facebook.
Zuckerberg has become one of the great influencers of the world today.
One trait about him that really stands out to me is that he gave away $100 million of his personal wealth to help the Newark School System.
He also pledged to give away the bulk of his wealth over the course of his life.
When most people at his age are concerned about big houses and fancy cars, he feels the need to give away money and have the 'do it now' mentality versus the 'why not wait till I am older' mentality.
Charity, as defined by Oxford Dictionary is giving voluntarily to those in need.
It could be volunteering your time or giving away money and skills.
Zuckerberg's act is more of philanthropy, which is charity on a grander scale.
However, it is named; it shows that what we do and live for is bigger than our money, stuff and skills.
The question is "What can I contribute that can impact lives?" In my children's school, one of the criteria to be in the National Honor Society is to show a certain amount of volunteer service hours rendered in the community.
Sometimes these services were just merely to get the hours for recognition instead of having the true desire to serve others.
We are always being challenged to know the reason for volunteering.
There are few reasons why young people should volunteer: 1.
To have an attitude of gratitude 2.
To think beyond themselves 3.
To give so they can fight the thought of lack 4.
To have experiences that they will never have inside the four walls 5.
To see the world 6.
To understand different social groups, cultures and economics.
7.
To help others so they can better help themselves 8.
To find their true calling The New York Times Magazine, October 24, 2010 had a great article that featured a few young individuals that had gone to places out of the comfort zone to change a people group or serve the less fortunate.
One of this young people is Maggie Doyne.
While the rest of her friends were going to college, she took a gap year in search of her destiny.
She went to Nepal and eventually started a school called the Kopila Valley Primary School.
That is a huge undertaking for someone who is hardly 25.
Maggie has given hope to a community that has no opportunity to get education.
She also has bridge the gap between the upper caste and the lower caste.
She is also training kids to raise livestock for a living, repair bicycles and develop other skills so they will eventually make a living.
So what do Mark Zuckerberg and Maggie Doyne have in common that we can learned from and pass on to our children? Both travelled in different paths yet have made an impact to the world around them.
Zuckerberg, apart from transforming the way we do business, the way we connect and socialize, has contributed money to help a people group in Newark Public School.
Maggie is risk her life and travelled across the world to an unknown place to give hope and opportunity to a community in Nepal.
These are young people who have risen up out of the norm and help fix the world and their generation.
Could it be that you have one just like them in your home?