Additional information
by Kelsey Timmerman (Author)
Your gifts connect you to a world of giving
Americans are generous with their pocketbooks, but trying to make a difference and actually making a difference are two different things. Where Am I Giving? by New York Times bestselling author Kelsey Timmerman takes you on a journey to meet people who will inspire you to live a purpose-filled, generous life and make the greatest impact you can through your career, time, consumer dollars, and donations.
Starting in his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, and then traveling all over the world (Myanmar, Kenya, India, Nepal, and more), Kelsey explores not only different ways of giving--as a worker, consumer, volunteer, giver, local and global citizen--but also the benefits and effectiveness of these methods. He spends time with monks, students, a refugee, a Marine, a former Hollywood executive, Peace Corps Volunteers, and seasoned aid workers to explore how they give, as well as with the people on the receiving end of their giving. Along the way he struggles to be a more informed giver as he becomes a "voluntourist," starts his own local non-profit, and searches for a balance between rationality and passion in how he gives.
This book will help you:
- Reveal the amazing opportunities you have to make an impact using your own gifts--and it doesn't have to be money
- Understand the sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience of giving
- See how giving can make you more connected and happier
- Examine types of giving, including microlending, volunteering, donating, ethical consumption, mission trips, voluntourism, child sponsorship, etc.
- Dive into a nuanced view of effectiveness of international aid and its intersection with development, politics, and culture
Where Am I Giving? is a fast-paced narrative combining compelling stories collected over 15 years of travel to 90+ countries, mixed with practical advice on how to make giving a part of our everyday lives.
Front Jacket
WHERE CAN YOU DO THE MOST GOOD?
Where Am I Giving? is the book for everyone who wants to change the world but isn't sure how.
Praise for Where Am I Giving?
"...thought-provoking and often entertaining insights into the importance of thinking carefully about where we give." --Peter Singer, professor of bioethics, Princeton University, and founder of The Life You Can Save
"A must read for all charity-minded people." --Arun Gandhi, Founder-President, Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, Rochester, NY
"An inspirational book that's also a fascinating travelogue . . . . We'll all be better off if our friends and neighbors read this." --Pauline Frommer, Publisher, Frommer's Guidebooks
"...an exciting adventure of a 'How-To' book on giving, volunteering, and generally making the world a better place...hugely entertaining while offering practical, real lessons and guidelines." --Conor Grennan, founder of Next Generation Nepal (NGN), and author of Little Princes
"Traveling with Kelsey Timmerman in the pages of Where Am I Giving? will inspire you to do the most good you can do." --Will MacAskill, President of the Centre for Effective Altruism and author of Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and How You Can Make a Difference
Back Jacket
Your gifts connect you to a world of giving. And if you effectively put them to use, you'll live a longer, more meaningful life, and you just might change the world.
After graduating from college, Kelsey Timmerman didn't set out with such lofty aspirations when he boarded a one-way flight that led to more than 16 years of travel. He just wanted to see a world beyond the rural Midwest. Through the years, he met sweatshop workers in Honduras, a slave in Ivory Coast, and kids who worked as trash pickers in Cambodia. Kelsey saw the inequality and injustice in the world and felt guilty, overwhelmed, and powerless to make a difference.
In Where Am I Giving?, the New York Times bestselling author embarks on an adventure that challenges himself and readers to move beyond awareness to action and to take advantage of the opportunities each of us have to make a difference. Kelsey travels to Myanmar, Kenya, India, Nepal, Zambia, and beyond to explore different ways of giving--as a worker, consumer, volunteer, philanthropist, local and global citizen--and also the benefits and effectiveness of these methods. He learns from folks such as Tibetan monks, Gandhi's great grandson, a refugee, gang members turned peace activists, and a former Hollywood executive. Kelsey discovers how they give and meets the people on the receiving end of their giving.
Giving isn't just about writing a check--it's about the way you travel, what you consume, how you spend your free time, and how you live. Featuring highlighted Giving Rules throughout the book along with Kelsey's attempt at formulating a Good Person Equation, Where Am I Giving? will help you:
- Understand the sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience of giving
- Examine types of giving, including microlending, volunteering, donating, ethical consumption, mission trips, voluntourism, and child sponsorship
- Dive into a nuanced view of the effectiveness of international aid and its intersection with development, politics, and culture
- Identify ways you can do the most good you can with the talents, time, and resources you have to give
Giving isn't about the least we can do, but about the most we can give to others with the gifts we have.
kelseytimmerman.com
Author Biography
KELSEY TIMMERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of Where Am I Wearing? and Where Am I Eating?. A champion of global thinking and local action, he regularly speaks at universities, colleges, and high schools all over the U.S. He is also the co-founder of The Facing Project, a non-profit community storytelling initiative in nearly 100 communities across the country.
