The Power of Giving
By: Jenny Sparano, Vice President, Public Relations
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill
When I was a young girl in elementary school, I spent one summer riding my bicycle once a week to a corner store a few blocks from my house. I would buy Bazooka gum with part of my allowance from chores and collect the stray Bazooka wrappers that other kids had tossed on the ground after they had popped the sugary pink gum into their mouths. I wasn’t interested in the gum or the comic printed on the inside of the wrapper. Instead, I had my eye on the gifts printed in the lower corner—the ones you could get if you mailed in enough wrappers. I was on a mission!
By the end of that summer, I had enough wrappers and allowance saved to get my family presents for Christmas. I 
still remember my mom and grandmothers opening up the necklaces I bought them with those Bazooka gum wrappers. They each examined the cream-colored ceramic pendant hanging on a thin, gold-plated chain and saw their first name printed in cursive gold lettering. They lit up with smiles and hugged me. One of my grandmas cried when she learned what I had done to buy it. That was the first time I felt the power of giving—that warm, positive feeling that results when you’ve done something good, something bigger than yourself, for someone else.
That positive feeling that comes with giving has actually been studied by researchers who have found that good deeds or acts of kindness cause the body to release endorphins in the brain, which cause that “helper’s high.” Giving, of course, doesn’t have to be monetary in nature. I’ve learned that giving can take many forms—volunteering for a charity, mentoring someone, or even providing a smile or hug at the right moment.
Over the course of my life, I’ve tried to incorporate some element of giving into both my professional and personal lives. For most of my career, I’ve worked in healthcare communications and marketing where I’ve been fortunate to be part of larger missions to improve the patient experience through education and support programs and, at Peregrine Market Access, to ensure sick patients are able to get the medicines they need. When confronted with personal challenges in my life, including a difficult divorce, I’ve been able to get my bearings and stay positive by participating in volunteer projects that benefit others and provide me with much-needed perspective.
When my grandmothers passed away, I learned that the Bazooka necklaces were still in their jewelry boxes all those years later. Those cheap necklaces purchased with gum wrappers were priceless and symbolized a gesture of love that withstood the test of time. They were an early lesson in the power of giving. They’re the reason my “why” is always wrapped up in the hope that I can do or give something meaningful, knowing that the recipient and the giver can benefit in significant ways.
Learn more about the Peregrine Market Access Payer Public Relations service pillar and how Jenny is helping pharmaceutical companies to effectively communicate the value of their treatments to value chain stakeholders with the goal of ensuring patients have access to the medicines they need.