What Breaks Your Heart? Finding Meaning and Purpose through Giving Back
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” — Acts 20:35
It was just Thanksgiving. A time when we practice gratitude for the things we have and the people we share our lives with. It is also a time to reflect on those who aren’t as fortunate.
Everyone has a cause they are passionate about. If you’re not sure what to pick, just think about a situation or subject that breaks your heart. What problem do you want to fix in the world or in your community? What wrongs do you want to see righted? What breaks your heart will guide you towards causes that align with your values, interests and personal experiences.
Giving is important now more than ever. We have just gone through a difficult couple of years, which highlighted how vulnerable many people are in our own communities. Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank reported in mid-2020 that reliance on the food bank rose by 25% because of the pandemic. And according to a CBC article, while demand is rising for charities, donations are waning. The Giving Report, released by CanadaHelps, showed that one in four Canadians will give less this year than they did last year. Does this reflect a less charitable spirit or is it simply a product of the pandemic? I suppose we’ll find out in the coming years.
While studies focus on monetary donations, there are other ways to support causes you care about. You can donate your time through volunteering or you can donate items, such as food or clothing. Philanthropy is for everyone. Many of us have the capacity to give something to support a worthy cause.
Be an Entrepreneur
If you’re thinking about starting a business, but aren’t sure what, the “what breaks your heart” model works as a tool to discover what you’re most passionate about and what problems you want to solve with your business. This is the advice Sara Blakely, CEO of Spanx, gives in her MasterClass. You can start a business that really matters to you and will serve others and be a success.
If you care about the environment, you can start an eco-friendly brand, for example. Doing good and your career don’t have to be separate parts of yourself. You can use what you’re passionate about to guide you towards a business model that helps solve real world problems.
Staff Shop and Philanthropy
Philanthropy is such a huge part of the Staff Shop business model, it has its own dedicated tab on our website. We not only donate to a select group of causes, we also volunteer. Everyone who works for Staff Shop picks a cause that breaks their heart to volunteer their time with.
For Nidhi, Staff Shop’s specialist for talent sourcing and payroll delivery, child hunger breaks her heart.
“The thing that really makes me sad is malnourished children. UNICEF Canada supports children in a lot of ways when it comes to their health, education and I feel we can be a part of it. There are a lot of ways to help; donations, buying gifts, fundraising, etc. They also organize marathons and you can support them at the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon.”
For Founder & CEO, Jennifer, it’s human trafficking that makes her heartache.
“Human trafficking has always been unfathomable to me. My mind and heart can’t even begin to understand this type of evil. I can only pray, and do my part to contribute to any possible solutions. Whether it be time spent with victims, helping them get connected with faith and the right people, donating to the right charities, employment resources and opportunities, self defense, etc. – we can only give back as much as we can and hope it helps them heal and feel valued in this world. The perpetrators also need prayers and miracles. I hope to start a charity someday, dedicated to solving this problem.”
Other causes that the team supports include economic inequality, prison reform, homelessness, human rights, domestic and child abuse, indigenous truth and reconciliation and more.
But don’t choose what you support based on this list. Look inside yourself and determine what hurts you most to see, then go from there.
Go Out There and Change the World
The bottomline here is that many of us have the ability to give in some way. If you aren’t already volunteering or donating, we encourage you to do so. Find what breaks your heart and do something about it.
Contact Us
If you want to discuss our philanthropy, we invite you to contact us to make recommendations or share your story.
As always, we invite you to Join Us or Hire Us.