Stacy Cohen on Philanthropy

If you ask me what makes you wealthy, I would say peace in oneʼs soul – and that doesn’t depend on dollars. It’s the feeling you get from giving back that makes you truly fulfilled. Something as small as holding someoneʼs hand when they need it can give you the ultimate rush: the “Helperʼs Euphoria.”

There are so many fantastic causes out there. Think about your passions and what type of cause you want to give to – it can be especially rewarding to support a charity close to your heart or that has affected a loved one. Most importantly: Be sure to do research so that you know the funding goes to the proper place.

The bottom line is that whatever your status in life you can find ways to provide philanthropic services. It can be money, intellectual capital or almost anything which brings hope and value to the receiving party. I encourage everyone to find a comfortable means to give back in some way. It is our privilege and responsibility as human beings to help others in this world where we can.

Camp Okizu is a free residential summer camp program for families whose lives have been affected by childhood cancer. It is the largest camp of its kind in Northern California, offering a range of outstanding recreational and therapeutic programs.

I am a supporter of the Seva Foundation whose programs help prevent blindness and restore sight in countries where nearly 500,000 children go blind every year. Our support helped leverage Seva’s proven strategies and partnerships to target regions where treatment and prevention programs are most needed.

Over the past 28 years, Seva has become an international model in the field of blindness prevention. The expertise gained by working with hundreds of thousands of people is now being applied to building improved service delivery systems and programs for children.

I recently donated a grant to the Stem Cell Biology Program at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) focused on providing an FDA approved “Core Research Facility.” The facility translates laboratory advancements made in stem cell biology research into therapeutic applications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and other life-threatening conditions.