Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C has a new exhibit, “Giving in America.” Museum curator Bonnie Lilienfeld explains that the exhibit shows the history of giving and how many of the fundraising operations have come about.
For instance, the 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started with a blue plastic bucket that belonged to a New York woman, Jeanette Senerchia. With a husband who had ALS, Senerchia was challenged to dump ice on her head to raise awareness about ALS.
There is a silver plate at the museum from 1764, for instance, that was given by Thomas Hancock to his church in Boston.
Lilienfeld explained that charity isn’t always just about money. As she said pointing to a blood donation kit, “That’s really sort of the ultimate gift of really giving of yourself. We included that story here to get people to understand, sometimes the smallest act really is an act of philanthropy.”
There is a tool belt on display, as well, that a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity used to build a house.
The exhibit is now on permanent display at the museum.