“The Power of Half” – How selling your mansion can bring you happiness
It’s a sweetly ironic tale about overachieving: Jean and Kevin Salwin had worked and saved and were living the dream in an elegant Atlanta mansion – the home that would make their lives beautiful and the kids happy – when their idealistic teenage daughter Hannah, troubled by the plight of a homeless man, sparked a conversation that eventually lead to the sale of the house and donation of half the proceeds ($800,000) to The Hunger Project…
Kevin (who wrote for the Wall Street Journal before becoming an entrepreneur) and daughter Hannah have written a book, The Power of Half, about the process their family went through – a process that lead to the decision to “give half.” It’s a remarkable story of how one family carried on a year-long discussion about values and priorities and meaning and the practical issues involved in giving: help one person a lot or a lot of people a little?
Get involved in an issue that impacts all social classes or focus on the needs of the poor? Donate at home or abroad?
Hannah Salwen answering questions at HPPL
Kevin and Hannah, a very poised and articulate high school junior, spoke at the Highland Park Library last Wednesday afternoon, to an audience that included many school-age kids who responded eagerly with questions for the Salwens – just how did they find potential charities to consider (the internet, of course!) and why did they decide on The Hunger Project? (THP’s emphasis on women’s self-empowerment in places of extreme poverty).
The Salwens emphasized that they don’t want their story to be one of rich people bragging about how generous they are, but a story about how “things” really don’t make people happy, and how their re-thinking of their priorities has brought meaning and joy into their lives. Hannah emphasized her conviction that giving is not a privilege of the wealthy, but a gift anyone can share, whether it means the gift of money or time or talent.
Hannah and Kevin Salwen at HPPL
For more information about the Salwens, see the Nicolas D. Kristof
Jan. 23, 2010 column that brought national attention to the Salwen’s book,
Power of Half website, or
video from ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, 02.08.2010. For more information about upcoming Highland Park Library programs, see the
HPPL website.
It’s a sweetly ironic tale about overachieving: Jean and Kevin Salwin had worked and saved and were living the dream in an elegant Atlanta mansion – the home that would make their lives beautiful and the kids happy – when their idealistic teenage daughter Hannah, troubled by the plight of a homeless man, sparked a conversation that eventually lead to the sale of the house and donation of half the proceeds ($800,000) to The Hunger Project…
