Billionaire philanthropist Robert Hale wants the nation’s future leaders to know that you should give more than you receive — and he demonstrated it by offering each member of the UMass Boston undergraduate class of 2023 $1,000 to give them a step ahead.
But the money came with a catch – they are responsible for giving away half of it.
“We’re proud of you, so we want to share this celebration with you. We want to give you two gifts. The first is a gift for you. The second is the gift of giving,” Hale said during his opening remarks. . “These difficult times have heightened the need to share, care and give. Our community and our world need you, they need us more than ever – they need us to be compassionate.”
He explained further as workers pulled stacks of envelopes from gym bags.
“There are two sets of envelopes: one says ‘gift’ and the other ‘offer’. The first is for you, the ‘Gift’ is for you. The ‘Give’ is also for you, but it’s is for giving,” he said. “The greatest joys we’ve had in our lives have been the gift of giving. So each of you is getting $1,000 in cash right now.”
The graduates jumped for joy, clapping for about a minute.
“The first $500 is for you,” Hale said then. “It’s a celebration of everything you’ve done to be here today. You are leaders. Celebrate. joy of giving. Congratulations, Beacons!”
If the gift sounds familiar, Hale also gave $1,000 to each Roxbury Community College Class of 2022 graduate — split into two envelopes, on the condition that half be given to someone who might need more. aid.
“If you give a little more than you get, your life will be better for it, I promise you that,” Hale told UMass graduates Thursday.
Hale is the founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, and he owns a minority stake in the Boston Celtics.
NBC Chicago