Activity time: 20 minutes

Materials for Activity

• Handout 3, Letter to My Dad
• Newsprint, markers, and tape

Preparation for Activity

• Review and make copies of Handout 3.
• Recruit a volunteer to read the handout aloud and give it to them in advance.
• Write the following questions on newsprint, and post:
  • What is the impact of family dynamics on your money decisions?
  • Has there been a time when you received a money gift that had strings attached? How did it feel?
  • Has there been a time when you gave money to a cause instead of spending it on yourself? How did it feel?

Description of Activity

Tell participants you are going to read a letter from a young adult to his father about his choice to give away a significant portion of his trust fund. Distribute Handout 3, Letter to My Dad, and have a volunteer read it aloud. Allow a moment for participants to reflect, and then invite them to find a partner. Invite pairs to take ten minutes to consider the questions you have posted.

Use the chime to keep track of time. At the five-minute mark, indicate that the second person in the group should be speaking. Sound the chime again two minutes before the end of the allotted time.

Bring the group back together and ask each pair to share one “aha” from their discussion. Limit the group reporting time to about five minutes.