Giving makes for a happy Chanukah; go on & try it this year

Money MattersHappy Chanukah! What wonderful memories those two words conjure up.

I remember the wonderful latkes my grandma used to make. Bathed in so much oil that Grandma Sophie set the hot latkes on sheets torn from brown paper bags to drain off some of it. Then we'd layer them with apple sauce and sour cream. Delicious! Of course the happiest parts of Chanukah for me were the presents. Trains, trucks, coloring books and even pjs. Yes those are great memories.

This year, as we face deepening economic crises, it's likely that many kids here in Cherry Hill and the surrounding areas will have a less than happy Chanukah. It's possible that some families will face true hardships including loss of their homes or reduced incomes.

Tough choices may have to be made. If we buy presents like we normally do, will we have enough to pay the heating bill? Or what about the tuition for Jewish day school, or JCC summer camp? And will anybody from our family need counseling services from the JFCS because of these difficult times? There are many issues to be considered.

With all these real life issues facing us as adults, it is sure to impact how we handle this year's gift giving season. How these issues affect us will surely impact our children and grandchildren as well. How can we see the silver lining in this year's season of giving?

I happened to Google the definition of the word "happy". The search returned 15.5 million results. That's a lot of happiness. It is nearly double the results for the word "sad" which appears 7 million times. Clearly, happiness has been written about a lot more. But what makes us happy?

Does getting married make us happy? Does having children? Does having friends, going on trips, being spiritual? Believe it or not, Arthur Brooks completed a study, entitled "Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America—And How We Can Get More of It," which talks about this state of mind.

Gross cites that, "People who give money to charity are 43% more likely than nongivers to say they are very happy. Volunteers are 42% more likely to be happy than non-volunteers."

I guess these statistics are not that surprising. We have all experienced those "helper's highs". Whether we have volunteered at the local animal shelter, fed meals to the poor, or volunteered on a committee or board, these experiences have enriched our lives and we have left with that warm glow knowing that we have helped make the world a better place to live.

Philanthropy at the Jewish Community Foundation can not only give you that warm feeling of changing the world but also the knowledge that your gift will do so for years and generations to come. Because we know that while we may walk away from a volunteer experience with a "helper's high," the real objective is to alleviate suffering, provide services for those less fortunate, or work in a way to make our world a better place to live.

I encourage you to consider trying to be happier this year.

Let's sit down and discuss how you can carve out your piece of happiness. Through a personal endowment fund at the JCF, for example, you may be able to endow a program at your synagogue that provides services for kids with special needs, you may enrich the lives of seniors through a fund that will help subsidize trips to cultural events, or you may provide scholarship assistance so that needy Jewish children can have a summer camping experience.

This Chanukah you have the power to both make yourself happy while also assuring that others in our community will be happy in years to come.

On behalf of all of our JCF donors, friends, staff, professional advisors, and dedicated Board of Trustees, I wish all of our readers a Happy Chanukah. .