“At Cradles to Crayons, we see every day how our volunteers, especially children, are learning to give back through the work they do to help other children. In this article just published in the New York Times, Cradles to Crayons is highlighted by a researcher on empathy development as a prime example of how to teach children empathy. We are so pleased that Cradles’ work in all of our markets is getting recognition not only for the crucial items we provide for children in need but for the impact we have on our volunteers as well.”
Research shows that we are each born with a given number of neurons that participate in an empathetic response. But early life experience shapes how we act on it.
As the year’s end approaches, most Americans get bombarded by emailed and snail-mailed requests for donations to all manner of charities, A to Z.
I’m an easy target, a softy readily seduced by impassioned pleas to help improve the well-being of people, animals, and the environment, and I often respond to more appeals than my earnings warrant.
This year will be different, thanks to advice from one of the leading experts on empathy, Dr. Helen Riess, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of a new book, “The Empathy Effect,” that explores the neuroscience behind concern for others and offers advice on how to nurture and implement it most effectively.
Instead of a scattershot of small gifts to a dozen or more charities, Dr. Riess suggested in an interview that I “pick one or two where a more substantial contribution can really make a difference.” She told me to use “cognitive empathy,” a more rational, less emotional approach. Empathy doesn’t mean saying “yes” to every request, she emphasized. “Recognize that you can’t save the world, and give to organizations that are most important to you.”