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Philanthropy. It’s a word we’ve all heard before, whether talking about the charitable efforts of Oprah or Bill Gates, yet somehow fail to ascribe an impactful definition that’s relevant to our lives and experiences. But in her recently-published book, “Philanthropy Means Love,” Winchester native Jessica Carbone aims to change that.
Currently a frontline fundraiser at Boston College, Carbone works with alumni and parents in Seattle and Denver, and travels to meet them at least once a month. During her trips, she discusses their Boston College experiences in the hopes they make a generous donation to BC.
Before returning to BC where she’s worked for several years, Carbone’s former boss during her internship at the Fairmont Hotel in Boston was kind enough to recommend her for a developmental assistance role at Partners in Health (which to this day, she said, is one of the most impactful jobs she’s ever had).
There, she helped plan a national screening tour among other amazing projects, and was a great exposure to a large-scale nonprofit.
Originally majoring in education, with a particular interest in early childhood education, as an undergraduate, Carbone was heavily engaged in community service, which comprised a bulk of her extracurricular commitments.
She served weekly four-hour shifts at Pine Street Inn (a homeless shelter in Boston), traveled to Jamaica during her winter break to work in an Orphanage/Elderly Home, spent a Spring Break in Exmore Virginia to meet with Perdue Chicken Factory workers to build houses, etc.
As such, it wasn’t long before Carbone realized that her life’s dedication was non-profit work. Combining her passion for teaching kids with her dedication to the non-profit space, she often thought about writing a children’s book to combine the two worlds into a cohesive union.
However, having never truly pursued writing outside of an academic setting (both at BC and Harvard where she earned her Masters), let alone story writing, the experience of being creative and doing something outside of her day-to-day was fun.
Writing the book
Inspired to correct common misconceptions and a general lack of understanding surrounding philanthropy and non-profit work, Carbone said writing her book was the perfect avenue to combine her creative spirit with her longtime passion.
The word philanthropy, as Carbone learned from a conversation with a university colleague, originates from Greek and translates to love.
“I thought that was a really nice refrain of how we view philanthropy,” she said. “Often in my work, people say ‘Oh, you just ask people for money all day long,’ but really it’s about connecting people to the causes they care about.”
Writing a preliminary rough draft, Carbone had fun stitching rhymes into an impactful product. The book, which aims to teach children what philanthropy is, attempts to stress that it’s fundamentally a work of love.
What turned her rough draft into a book purchasable on Amazon was a visit to her family’s home for her father’s 70th birthday. After loving the story, her mom suggested she self-publish the book, inspiring her to pursue that avenue.
Carbone specifically cited her positive experience using a site called Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelance services, where she connected with an artist that produced the illustrations for her story.
Going back and forth with the artist, sending him the writing for each page to aid his illustrations, she spent many months crafting her passion project into a tangible finished product.
Originally hoping to sell 70 copies (so that she could break even with the fees she paid her illustrator), it’s fair to say she massively exceeded that goal.
However, beyond the physical amount of sales her book has received, the positive impact that it’s had inspiring readers to pursue philanthropy has been truly awesome.
“The most exciting and rewarding aspect I’ve seen is how excited the readers are to get involved in non-profit work,” she said. “Friends have given it to kids for baby showers and birthday parties, and all the kids have had this reaction of ‘I can do this.’”
Origins
Born in the heart of Winchester, Carbone began her educational journey at Muraco Elementary, before matriculating through McCall and finally Winchester High School. At WHS, she was a member of Connect and Commit (a local volunteer group) to conduct service projects aimed at addressing various social injustices. ]
It was her experiences as a member of this club that inspired her to pursue volunteerism while studying at BC, whose Jesuit-Catholic devotion to service appealed greatly to her.
Though she didn’t grow up Catholic, the culture of service omnipresent on campus called to her, and she couldn’t have been happier with her decision.
Nowadays, Carbone lives with her husband, who is equally as dedicated to philanthropy (specifically involved with Dana Farber), in Medford right by the border with Winchester.
She’s managed to maintain a deep connection with the town she grew up in (frequenting Bruegger’s Bagels, Playa Bowls, etc.), enjoying the same relationship that residents do.
And, this fall, Carbone was thrilled to participate in a read aloud session at Ambrose, of which she’s an alumni of, organized by the principal of the school.
Transformative read aloud
Carbone said she was eager to give back to the community that was the spark of many fond memories, and actually went to school with Principal Andrea Phelan’s daughter during her studies at Ambrose.
Through LinkedIn, Carbone reconnected with her longtime friend, and it was Phelan’s daughter who proposed that Ambrose host a read aloud featuring Carbone’s children’s book. From there, plans were made to hold it in Ms. Nucci’s first grade classroom.
For Carbone, considering the somewhat foreign and unfamiliar subject of her book, she went into the read aloud unsure of how receptive the students would be.
However, she was glad to report the event was a smashing success.
“It was great [...] I was just so impressed with the kids in Winchester,” she said. “I mean they just asked such great questions, they had so many examples of ways that they’ve made money.”
Lemonade stands, selling clothes, or doing chores, Carbone added she was glad to see the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well among Winchester youth.
