The Giving Chain
By Lainey S. Cronk

Yesterday I taught a first-grader at the local Boys & Girls Club how to draw a flower in a circle using a protractor. She was excited by this simple geometry, and spent a long time coloring the flower and laboriously writing a “To/from” message, complete with my misspelled name. Then, without any words, she presented it to me. I expressed honest delight, impressed at her dedication and the stained-glass look of the flower. The small smile on her face told that she was satisfied with a job well done and well received.

They say that it’s better to give than to receive, but I think that’s an oversimplification. The magic of a moment of real giving is a sense of connection and community that works both ways. The first-grader and I both felt that in the giving of a small but significant gift.

The volunteers who put together gift bags for Cheerful Givers may never interact with the recipients. But there’s still that sense of connection and community, and of becoming part of something that reaches beyond us.

Psychologist Ellen J. Langer talks in a Psychology Today article about the psychology of giving. “We usually think that the more we care about someone, the more we want to give to them,” she says. “This is probably true. But what is even more interesting is that the more we give, the more we come to care about the person to whom we are giving. We feel alive in the activity.”

In fact, brain research points out a more scientific positive impact of giving. Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institutes of Health, and his team used functional MRI to look at which brain structures were most active when volunteers played a certain computer game.

In the game, they received cash awards and also were asked for charity donations. When the players were given money, areas of the brain associated with the release of dopamine, a chemical triggering feelings of pleasure and reward, were active. But to the researchers’ surprise, when the players donated to charities, those areas were even more active!

This whole process of community, participation, and the simple psychological joy of giving gets a special kick-start by the Cheerful Givers volunteers. It starts with those who give time and resources to create the gifts. Then it goes to the shelters and foodshelves, who enjoy the sense that their work is being supported and affirmed. They in turn are able to give the gift bags to those who come to them for help. The cycle continues as the parents are able to give something exciting to their children; and the children experience the joy of being recognized and honored.

It’s a chain of the joy of both giving and receiving.

And after all, isn’t that what community is really about—creating domino affects, being part of a chain of support that is reciprocal, bringing people on all sides into a community of affirmation. It’s a strong chain made of many small links—and it’s a wonderful chain to be a part of.