While CHP depends your financial gifts to support our programs and services not covered by our main income sources, what we welcome most is the spirit behind the giving.
The donor who gives $25 every single year, without fail, is as important to us as the donor who gives hundreds, or thousands. Likewise, the supporter whose contribution is hands-on volunteer time like helping at our Children’s Attic sale or helping at the monthly Food Bank, is a treasured philanthropist in our world.
The wide range of generous gifts we receive from you are your vote of confidence, your generosity of spirit, your commitment to your neighbors and the longstanding CHP tradition of equal access to healthcare. In return for your gifts, we do our best, every day, to live up to your confidence as we care for our community.
We are so pleased to know, that as a generous donor or volunteer, you also receive rewards.
Research has shown that giving — in whatever form — offers unique health benefits, like the release of endorphins and oxytocin — happy hormones that give us a sense of well-being. In addition, a study by the National Institutes of Health found that when people give to charities, their giving activates brain regions associated with social connection, trust and pleasure.
In his book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People, author Stephen Post writes that giving promotes health benefits in people with chronic illness.
Another study at University of California-Berkeley found that elders who volunteered regularly in their communities were 44 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than their non-volunteer counterparts (when adjusted for factors related to health conditions).
Kindness and generosity just feel good. Giving connects us to shared causes and people of similar interests and values. So whether you give money, or give of your time, we all benefit.
As the holiday season approaches, we hope to inspire a spirit of giving and generosity that lasts throughout your year – for our benefit and yours.
Sincerely,
Lia Spiliotes