Say you had a million dollars.  That would be pretty cool, right?  You’d probably go shopping more than once a month.  Maybe bankroll your friends at the bar.  Pay off those student loans.  Get yourself set up in a cushy lifestyle, right?

Okay, now say you had $100 million.  You’d still do all of the above, but with the leftover change I hope you’d go all-out Oprah on some people in need.  Genocide refugees, abandoned animals, sad kids with distended bellies and flies on their faces…take your pick.  It’s really not that hard when you look at everything that’s going on in the world.

Or so I thought until one Mr. Henry Kravis proved me wrong.  The dude’s loaded.  Forget millions, his net worth is in the billions range.  And while he did recently make a significant donation, it wasn’t to the type of organization you’d expect.  Thanks to Kravis’ generosity, 100 million of his hard-earned dollars will be going to Columbia University’s Business School.  Because Ivy League universities need 450,000 feet added to their buildings and this guy really needs his name on a library or something.  Riiiight.

I’m sure the school would have gladly accepted a donation of a far lesser sum and maybe even still put his name in big stone-engraved letters somewhere.  The rest of that cool $100 mill could have fed families, bought vaccinations, or sent young girls to school.  Hell, he could have even done something as frivolous as sending a thousand sick kids to a baseball game and it would have been a better call. Read More »

Free Hugs, because the drugs ain't sellin'.

Tell me a word – any word you want -  and I will show you that the root of that word is Greek.

Let’s try, Philanthropist.

Not to be confused with “Full-On Rapist,” a philanthropist is a “lover of humanity.” A giver. A good person. A helping hand.

So what in the hell do you give someone who constantly loves to..uh..give?

Give the gifts that keep on giving! (And, no, I’m not talking about herpes. That is literally the opposite of a “Happy Holiday.”) Here are a few gifts that give:

The Visa GiveCard:
When your giftee is impossible to shop for, a gift card is really the only way to go. But instead of giving the generic gift card that takes less than three seconds of imagination, give them one that gives back.  The Visa GiveCard is a prepaid gift card where $5 of it is donated toward any of the 5,481 available charities your philanthropist buddy’s heart desires. The rest can be used as a regular gift card to anywhere accepting Visa.

M.A.C Viva Glam lipstick or lipglass – Every last stinkin’ cent goes to the M.A.C AIDS fund to help all people living with HIV and AIDS.  Your friend will look hot and feel good knowing someone else is benefiting from her beauty. Read More »

Being single is something I have cherished over the past few months. I have taken full advantage of my leg-shaving free showers and the ability to be completely selfish with my time. Being able to focus only on myself has allowed me to discover more of who I am as a philanthropist, a writer and a woman in general. I have grown stronger and more independent and I am truly grateful for the opportunity.

Yet, for some reason, it seems like one evening made me forget everything I have grown to appreciate over the past few months.

While out on a seemingly normal Saturday night last weekend, I met someone when I least expected it. He was intelligent, attractive and attracted to me. (Score!) We spent the evening talking and laughing and having a great time. I genuinely enjoyed the time I spent with him, which was something I haven’t had in a long time. We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

I went home happy and excited. I wasn’t really looking for anything right now, but that is what made my night so thrilling. Still, I didn’t want to make anything more out of the situation than it was: two people hanging out with a side of blatant flirtation. Despite all of my internal dialogue, though, I couldn’t get the kid out of my head. No matter how many times I told myself to stop thinking about it, stop checking my phone and stop daydreaming about what would happen if I saw him again, I just couldn’t. Read More »