Why do people become philanthropists? The benefits are many. They get to enjoy being generous, which has been shown to have measurable positive effects on our health. They get to build goodwill in their communities, which is often returned in kind. And they can create new personal friendships, which has been shown to enrich our lives and help us live longer.

Usually, we think of rich people when we think of philanthropists. But you don't have to be wealthy to enjoy the benefits of giving. Here's a case to show that anyone can be a philanthropist within their means…

While serving in the Navy during World War II, Thomas Cannon survived several accidents that killed more than 300 of his shipmates. Cannon credits his escape from these accidents as the reason for his philanthropy, saying "Such escapes made me believe that I was being preserved for something."

Starting in 1972, Cannon began donating money, and he frequently chose people that he had heard about in the news. Over 33 years, Cannon gifted over $150,000, often by mailing $1,000 checks to the staff of the local newspaper with instructions about who should receive the money. His charity helped support a local group that volunteered in the elementary school, a woman who started a youth center in her low-income neighborhood, and an orphaned teen who was active in his community.

Cannon managed these donations on a $20,000/year postal worker salary. In time, he was forced to quit his job and become a full-time caretaker of his wife. That's when much of his philanthropy came back to him, as the community came together to provide him and his wife with a house and medical care.

Before he died, Cannon suggested the best way to honor his memory would be for others to just “Help somebody.”

The Canadian economy contracted 0.1 per cent in July following growth of 0.6 per cent in June.  The level of GDP remains about 2 per cent below its pre-pandemic level of February 2020.  The majority of Canadian industries actually grew in July, led by re-opening of many provincial economies which led to a strong increase in the accommodation and food services sectors. That strength was more than offset, however, by declines in agriculture, manufacturing and wholesale trade. On the bright side, Statistics Canada's preliminary estimate for August real GDP is showing a strong bounce back, with output across the economy rising 0.7 per cent on a monthly basis. 

Given today's release, we are tracking 3rd quarter real GDP growth in Canada at about 3.5 per cent. The pace of the recovery remains uncertain due to the pandemic and especially the Delta variant driven rise in cases around the country. We saw this uncertainty at play in the second quarter when the economy unexpectedly contracted and again, though to a lesser extent, in July. We anticipate that some of the expected acceleration of economic growth may now be pushed into the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first half of 2022. As a result, we have trimmed our forecast for Canadian real GDP growth from about 6 per cent in 2021 down to 5 per cent.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Link:  https://mailchi.mp/bcrea/canadian-monthly-gdp-growth