Growing Up Generous

This groundbreaking addition to Alban's acclaimed Money, Faith, and Lifestyle Series creates a mosaic of what is happening - and could happen - in American Jewish and Christian congregations to cultivate in young people a deep and lasting commitment to giving and serving.

As The Giving Tree turns fifty, this timeless classic is available for the first time ever in ebook format. This digital edition allows young readers and lifelong fans to continue the legacy and love of a classic that will now reach an even wider audience. "Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk...and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein's incomparable career as a bestselling children's book author and illustrator began with Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. He is also the creator of picture books including A Giraffe and a Half, Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?, The Missing Piece, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, and the perennial favorite The Giving Tree, and of classic poetry collections such as Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, Every Thing On It, Don't Bump the Glump!, and Runny Babbit. And don't miss the other Shel Silverstein ebooks, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic!

Earl Hamner, creator of the television show "The Waltons", describes the ways nearly thirty women, including his mother, his wife, his daughter, teachers, colleagues, and others, have shaped his life.

Financial giving can be its own spiritual path. We have a deep potential for meaning-making and life satisfaction when we look to grow from being occasional, haphazard donors to deliberate, ambitious ones - the life-changing transition from donor to philanthropist. With easy-to-read guidance, The Generosity Path sheds new light on our finances - connecting money to our values, beliefs, and loves - promoting skills and strategies in charitable giving. Starting from a very personal place, it helps readers to find clarity in their own experience and then focus on their areas of passion to build a plan of action. Inspiring personal stories help demonstrate the development of financial generosity, the challenges involved, and the deeper benefits we all might expect from being more intentional with our giving. Creative tools for reflection and practice guide readers' progress. This practical yet wise volume also features information about collective giving in a community setting, family, or giving circle. Ideal for religious and civic organizations, The Generosity Path includes a discussion guide for group use.

Are you ready to embark on an inspiring journey to discover one of the greatest, most overlooked superpowers? In Generosity Wins, you’ll follow along with aspiring executive Emily Gardner on her quest to discover the superpower—generosity—and to inspire others to embrace it as well. Written in a business fable style, Generosity Wins blends a page-turning story with an abundance of true-life insights from some of today’s top business and thought leaders. While Emily is a fictitious character, the highly accomplished people she interviews are very real. The hard-won expertise, wisdom, and abundant science they share with Emily are sure to resonate with you as you navigate your own career and personal life journey. Along the way you will discover: Why generosity is a superpower and how to use it. Generosity’s role in fostering purpose-fueled happiness, emotional well-being, confidence, and passion. How generosity, with no expectation of return from the recipient, ignites your success. Why generosity will define the next generation of leaders. How the benefits of generosity compound for the giver, the receiver, and communities. Why technology is accelerating the benefits and power of generosity. Authors Monte Wood and Nicole Roberts passionately believe that generosity is core to who and what it means to be uniquely human. The clear path they chart in these pages begins with one insight; you have the power. Prepare yourself for radical new perspectives and a profoundly positive impact far greater than you imagined. Be courageous!

New York Times Bestseller “We all want to raise children with good values—children who are the opposite of spoiled—yet we often neglect to talk to our children about money. . . . From handling the tooth fairy, to tips on allowance, chores, charity, checking accounts, and part-time jobs, this engaging and important book is a must-read for parents.” — Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project In the spirit of Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s Nurture Shock, New York Times “Your Money” columnist Ron Lieber delivers a taboo-shattering manifesto that explains how talking openly to children about money can help parents raise modest, patient, grounded young adults who are financially wise beyond their years For Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist and father, good parenting means talking about money with our kids. Children are hyper-aware of money, and they have scores of questions about its nuances. But when parents shy away from the topic, they lose a tremendous opportunity—not just to model the basic financial behaviors that are increasingly important for young adults but also to imprint lessons about what the family truly values. Written in a warm, accessible voice, grounded in real-world experience and stories from families with a range of incomes, The Opposite of Spoiled is both a practical guidebook and a values-based philosophy. The foundation of the book is a detailed blueprint for the best ways to handle the basics: the tooth fairy, allowance, chores, charity, saving, birthdays, holidays, cell phones, checking accounts, clothing, cars, part-time jobs, and college tuition. It identifies a set of traits and virtues that embody the opposite of spoiled, and shares how to embrace the topic of money to help parents raise kids who are more generous and less materialistic. But The Opposite of Spoiled is also a promise to our kids that we will make them better with money than we are. It is for all of the parents who know that honest conversations about money with their curious children can help them become more patient and prudent, but who don’t know how and when to start.

American charitable giving veers from the hyperbolically generous to the hyperbolically stingy. On some days, no one has a quarter to spare; in times of disaster, Americans will put their lives on hold to build houses for those displaced by hurricanes. The crucial question of who gives and why they do it lies at the heart of American Generosity. Patricia Snell Herzog and Heather E. Price, sociologists who focus on philanthropy, draw on findings from the groundbreaking Science of Generosity initiative, which combines a nationally representative survey of adult Americans with in-depth interviews and case studies. For most Americans, they find, the important forms of giving are: donating money, volunteering time, and taking political action. Focusing on these three types of activity, the authors go on to examine and analyze multiple dimensions of resources, social status, regional cultural norms, different approaches to giving, social-psychological orientation, and the relational contexts of generosity. Herzog and Price conclude that giving is supported by "circles of generosity," which ripple outward in their reach to targets of giving. The book offers not just analysis, but practical tips for readers who want to increase their own giving, for parents modeling giving to their children, spouses desiring alignment in their giving, and friends and community members seeking to support giving by others. The authors also provide explicit fundraising ideas for nonprofits, foundations, and religious leaders. Thought-provoking and accessibly written, American Generosity lays out a broad yet nuanced explanation of giving that sheds important new light on a topic that touches all of us in one way or another.