When South Arkansas native Glenn Freeman talks about his philosophy on giving, he begins with his roots: “Growing up, my family was poor and didn’t have much. But we were in the same boat as a lot of other people. It was not uncommon for one of us to go next door and borrow a cup of sugar.”
Freeman, raised by a proud single mother who found it difficult to ask for help, strives to affect long-term change that empowers people and enables them to be self sufficient, rather than creating dependency. He believes in creating situations where people can have access to help without asking, and he supports organizations that give people opportunities to select the benefits or goods they need, such as food pantries, Goodwill Industries or The Salvation Army. Freeman also advocates for nonprofits that benefit young people, like the Ivy Center for Education (ICE), which helps high school students with ACT preparatory workshops, tutoring and mentoring programs.
But Freeman doesn’t think that kids should only be on the receiving end of gifts. He works with the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to teach the importance of leadership and community philanthropy to high school students. Freeman also mentors college men about the value of investing so that they may one day experience the benefits and impact of giving. He hopes this exposure to philanthropy will help shape their mindset and develop a broader pattern of giving in the minority community. He states simply, “If people didn’t give, there would be nothing to receive.”