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Tyler Nield - South Putnam Jr./Sr. High School

Tyler Nield is a South Putnam School Corporation student. He was the grand prize winner of the 2008 Putnam County Community Foundation's National Philanthropy Week essay contest. As grand prize winner, Tyler won $500 for his school and was able to award $150 to a Putnam County charity of his choice. Congratulations Tyler! Below is his essay.

Understanding Philanthropy with My Grandpa

To become a philanthropist you have to know what the word philanthropy really means. Philanthropy does not mean you can spend all you money on a brand new 74 inch flat screen HDTV at Best Buy for yourself. It means that you use much of your time and money on people that need it much more than you. It does not necessarily mean that you must spend every dime you have on someone else. However, I know someone quite well who represents and explains what philanthropy really means.

The philanthropist I know personally and admire most is my grandpa, Arvel Hornback. Grandpa lives near the town of Waverly in Johnson County, where his wife, Ann, lives with him. Grandpa co-owns 500 Tours, a business that offers students an opportunity to see and experience exciting adventures. He donates money to his church every week and helps with church activities. "I give quite a bit to my church. I know where the money goes and the good that is does. For example, it helps to pay the pastor's salary and for maintenance projects at church."

He does not just give his money to his church; he helps in other projects to help the needy. "We have the food pantry that we give food to people who desperately need food to live. We buy the school supplies for kids when they start school. We give quite a bit to the State Youth Convention. We give a lot to the missionaries." One of the missionaries is from his church. "We enjoy giving to them and hearing about the good work they are doing." Grandpa gives over ten percent of his money and some of his time to help needy people.

Grandpa has leaned one key thing in his life, "I have had to learn not to be selfish with my money and my resources. I have had to learn good judgment with putting my money and my time to the best possible use." Grandpa has been a philanthropist for over ten years and is not thinking about stopping. "Giving is more than giving money. It means giving up your time." He said the inspiration behind all of his generosity is "seeing the needs of people around me, especially at church."

A philanthropist that Grandpa looks up to is Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie is known as a famous industrialist, businessman, and philanthropist. Carnegie believed that rich people should give back to their community, so he donated much of his money and time to local charities, similar to what Grandpa does. "When I was in school I learned about Andrew Carnegie. He was the president of the United States Steel Corporation. Towards the end of his life he gave away millions of dollars to help build libraries all across the country. And because of that, a lot of young people got a chance to read books that they would not have had the opportunity to read." Carnegie is known for this famous quote: "There is little success where there is little laughter."

Grandpa's determination to make the world a better place to live by being a philanthropist is having a huge effect on my life. I hope that when I grow up, I can become successful like him, so that I can use my money and time to help local and national charities. I hope that other individuals will become great philanthropists like Grandpa is now. Even if you are not a millionaire like Andrew Carnegie was, you can still do your part to make this world a better place.

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