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VOICE ONE:
I’m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA SpecialEnglish.
VOICE ONE:
This week, we tell about philanthropy in the United States.
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“Philanthropy” comes from Latinand Greek. It means a love of humankind, especially as shown throughan act like giving to charity groups.
Charities collect money to help the sick and needy, to supportthe arts and to aid other causes.
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Experts say philanthropy has played an increasing part inAmerican society since the eighteen-sixties. These days, rich peoplelike Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, and mediabusinessman Ted Turner make news with their gifts to charity.
But fundraising experts say about seventy percent of householdsgive donations to non-profit groups during any given year. This timeof year, around the holidays, is an important time for charityappeals.
The United States has nine-hundred-thousand charities listed withthe federal tax agency. If churches and other religiouscongregations are included, the number is almost one-and-a-halfmillion.
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A report called “Giving USA” estimates how much individuals,companies and others give to charity. In two-thousand-two, theamount reached almost two-hundred-forty-one-thousand-milliondollars. This was an increase of one percent over two-thousand-one.If inflation is considered, giving decreased by half of one percent.
Still, the group that releases the yearly report called the levelhistoric. An official noted that it came during a year of economicdifficulties and other worries.
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“Giving USA” is released by the Trust for Philanthropy of theAmerican Association of Fundraising Counsel. The Center onPhilanthropy at the University of Indiana does the research andwrites the findings.
Publications about philanthropy list the fifty charities thatreceive the largest income. The list includes organizations that aidsocial, financial and development agencies and religious groups.Other charities on the list help support hospitals and diseaseresearch. Still others aid public broadcasting, museums and theperforming arts.
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Publications say the National Council of Young Men’s ChristianAssociations was the top-income charity for two-thousand-two. YMCA’shave grown to offer many services. These include health care forchildren and older people and international education.
The publications say the American Red Cross had the secondlargest income for two-thousand-two. The Red Cross provides bloodand tissue products. It trains millions of people in lifesavingskills. And its volunteers give their time to aid victims of floods,fires and other terrible events.
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Catholic Charities USA placed third on the list of incomereceived in two-thousand-two. Social service agencies connected toCatholic Charities help people of all religions.
Number fifty on the list of the fifty top-income charities lastyear was the National Mental Health Association. This is thecountry’s oldest and largest nonprofit group that deals with mentalhealth. More than three-hundred-forty allied organizations work toimprove mental health through activism, education, and research.
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Charities collect donations in many ways. Often they ask by mail.Others use the telephone. The Internet is another way.
People who give money to charities can reduce their taxes. Butgovernment officials warn people to be careful, like after thewildfires this autumn in Southern California. Not all groups thatappeal for money are honest.
Even with honest groups, there is always the question of how theyuse the money they collect. Officials say people should ask how mucha charity spends on itself for administrative costs.
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Many Americans give to a combined charity at work. For example,the United Way operates in about one-thousand-four-hundred cities.Its yearly campaigns combine the needs of many charities.
Some charities hold dinners and dances to raise money. Othershold auctions. People compete to offer the highest price forartworks and other objects.
Young people serve charities in many ways. They hold communityparties, wash cars and sell foods they make.
Charities often organize walks or races to raise money. The Marchof Dimes, for example, holds more than one-thousand walks each year.One of the main jobs of this group is to raise money for researchinto ways to prevent babies from being born too soon.
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The March of Dimes walking event is called WalkAmerica. It takesplace in all fifty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.The walks began thirty-three years ago. Since then, WalkAmerica hasraised more than one-thousand-million dollars.
Adults and children take part in the walks. Walkers ask familymembers and friends to make a gift to the March of Dimes. Others whowant to help can offer their time to help administer WalkAmericaevents.
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Some charity experts say walks, races and other such events donot always raise much money. They say the success depends on theweather, the economy and the competition from other events at thesame time.
But other experts point to reasons besides money for holding suchevents. For example, a runner in a race for AIDS research andtreatment can learn more about the disease. Media reporting on theevent can also increase public interest in supporting the charity.
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There are other reasons that people get involved in charityevents.
For example, there is a retired Army officer in Washington, D.C.,who always walks in events to aid research and treatment of breastcancer. His wife died of the disease several years ago. The man sayshe walks to honor his wife’s memory and to help protect the healthof his daughters. He says, “It feels good to fight back.”
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Actors, athletes and other famous people have helped launchefforts for many causes. Support from celebrities helped Gary andSusan Ellis of Florida start a charity that now receives millions ofdollars.
Their daughter Nicole was born nineteen years ago. She is now acollege student. But she has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease thataffects the lungs and other organs. Currently, even with the besttreatment, Nicole cannot expect to live a long life. The CysticFibrosis Foundation says the average lifetime of a person with thisdisease is thirty-two years.
Still, many years ago, most children with cystic fibrosis neverreached the age of seven.
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Nicole’s father is captain of a fishing boat in the Florida Keys.After learning of her sickness, Gary Ellis asked for help from somepeople who liked to fish. These included the great baseball playersTed Williams and, later, Joe DiMaggio. They and other celebritieshelped start a fishing competition to raise money for cysticfibrosis. That was in nineteen-eighty-eight.
With time, the competition became known as the Redbone CelebrityTournament Series. It raises money for research and treatment ofcystic fibrosis.
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Businesses, students and even very young children raise money forcharity. Some people leave their money or property to charities whenthey die. In doing these things, all of these people are following atradition many centuries old.
For example, ancient Israelities were asked to pay a tax to helppoor people. In ancient Egypt and Greece, ruling families helpedestablish libraries and universities. Churches in Europe supportedhospitals and homes for children with no parents.
In the United States, gifts from private citizens helpedestablish many early colleges, churches and hospitals. And todaymany of these places continue to depend at least in part onphilanthropy.
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VOICE TWO:
This VOA Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson.It was produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.