‘Give As We Grow’ philanthropy game
North Texas mom Elizabeth Carlock Phillips said her son inspired to create “Give As We Grow,” which teaches kids about philanthropy.
TEXAS, USA — Statistics show the past few years haven’t been kind to the state of helping others in the United States.
According to the Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, volunteer participation dropped by almost a quarter between 2019 and 2021. While experts attribute much of that decline to lingering effects of the COVID pandemic, it’s still spurred those in the philanthropic community to take action.
North Texas mom and philanthropist Elizabeth Carlock Phillips is one of them. She’s the Executive Director of The Phillips Foundation and says she was inspired by a simple question from her then 4-year-old son.
“My son tugged on my shirt and said, ‘Mom, I want to give some of my piggyback change,’” she says. “And I was so touched as a mom. That’s what it’s all about, right? You want your kids to care and to be kind and to continue to contribute to the community.”
So Phillips got to work, founding Give As We Grow, a digital experience encouraging children to give back. Its app and website use interactive games, journals and teaching tools to educate kids about the four Ts of philanthropy: time, treasure, talents and ties.
The effort is in partnership with the National Center for Family Philanthropy and the Giving Tuesday movement.
Phillips spent seven years researching and developing the tools, and wanted them to meet today’s kids where they spend so much of their time, on screens in the digital world.
“We thought crating a game and a virtual environment for kids to learn about community service, about philanthropy, would be a great way to meet kids where they are, to teach them and help create this generosity muscle,” Phillips says.
The app made quite a splash when it launched last December, with thousands of downloads even drawing the attention of ABC’s Good Morning America.
The impact can already be felt right here in North Texas.
Give As We Grow has several locally-based partners, including Paper for Water, Reading Partners and Better Block. It’s all part of the effort to inspire the next generation to give back in their communities, taking what they’re learning on screen and applying it to the real world.
“We love hearing that children are inspired by it. They’re learning about real nonprofits that they can get involved with in their communities,” Phillips says. “So it’s been exciting to see thousands of downloads already and that’s what we will consider success, is if this sparks a new generosity movement in youth philanthropy.”
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