4 million donation to YSU should inspire giving

Tony Lariccia's 4 million contribution to Youngstown State University's Centennial Capital Campaign last week stands out as the largest private gift in the history of the university.
It also stands out as a stellar example of the value of philanthropic generosity and volunteerism, particularly at a time of dwindling public resources to meet critical social and educational needs.
Lariccia's gift was made last Wednesday on National Philanthropy Day, an appropriate day to remind Americans of the positive impact they can have on deserving charitable and public-service institutions in their communities.
Where gift is targeted
Lariccia, a YSU graduate and vice president of Merrill Lynch in Canfield, pledged 4 million to the campaign to revitalize the university by its 100th anniversary in 2008. His gift will help in YSU's ambitious 43 million mission to construct a new College of Business Administration, to establish millions of dollars worth of endowments for faculty and students, to create state-of the art science and engineering labs and to build new indoor athletic facilities for students. Lariccia's gift is noteworthy not only for its record amount. It also continues the exemplary philanthropist's legacy of giving and serves as a model for others.
Lariccia, who modestly describes himself as "just a kid from Struthers," has donated nearly 10 million to various causes in the region. Beneficiaries have included the YMCA, Angels for Animals, Tod Children's Hospital, St. Charles Church and Struthers, Chaney and Boardman high schools.
At YSU, Lariccia already established a solid track record of giving. Before the record gift, he had contributed millions of dollars toward projects such as statues of legendary YSU coach Dom Rosselli and of YSU's first president Howard Jones, nursing labs, intercollegiate athletics and the Penguin Parade arts project. He gave a whopping 750,000 toward construction of the Andrews Student Wellness and Recreation Center. That 12 million campaign produced the first major YSU facility completely financed from private funds since Ward Beecher Science Hall was built nearly 40 years ago.
The value of giving
Today, the impact of Lariccia's recreation center donation and those of more than 600 others is clear. Thousands of students and faculty members take advantage of the impressive one-year-old center, and it serves as an attractive drawing-card for prospective students.
Therein lies the value of such selfless giving. Philanthropy works to strengthen community institutions and to improve the community's overall quality of life. True, very few people can afford to donate so lavishly and to so many community endeavors as does Lariccia. That does not mean, however, that many small gifts do not make a difference. They do.
So follow the praiseworthy example of Tony Lariccia. Find a project, organization or cause in the Mahoning Valley that you feel strongly about. Dig into your pockets as deeply as you can and give. Then rest in the knowledge that you have done your part to strengthen that project, organization or cause. And in so doing, you've done your part to strengthen the fiber of our community.