According to America's leading network of charitable donors, more philanthropic donations are channeled into education than to any other sector of society except religion.

Philanthropy Roundtable points out that our first college, which was donor supported, dates nearly back to the time of our first towns and settlements.Americans give two to five times more than in comparable nations and every year, more than $350 billion is handed out by individuals, foundations and businesses to an array of good causes.We don't have to look far to find the evidence in this area. Just a few weeks ago, the John E. Morgan Foundation awarded the Lehigh Carbon Community College Foundation a $250,000 grant, which expands its support of the college and its scholarship opportunity to Tamaqua Area High School students. The scholarship honors the life of the late industrialist who sold his knitting mills in 1984 but continued his lifetime work as a philanthropist until his death in 2001 at age 89.Another living example is Howard Lutnick whose recent $25 million donation to Haverford College was the largest single gift in the 181-year history of the suburban Philadelphia institution. Lutnick, chairman of a New York City financial firm, formed a strong personal attachment to the college after a number of personal setbacks.Lutnick lost his mother to cancer when he was a high school junior and one week into his freshman year at Haverford, his father died, the result of a medical mistake when a nurse gave him an overdose of a chemotherapy drug.Lutnick would have perished with the rest of his employees in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 13 years ago had he not been taking his son to his first day of kindergarten. After rushing to the scene after the twin towers were struck by hijacked airliners, he fled the massive dust cloud of the collapsed South Tower by diving under a car.The company's philosophy had been to hire family and friends and more than two-thirds of Lutnick's employees died that day, including 26 sets of brothers. The indoor tennis and track center at Haverford bears the name of his brother Gary, who died in the 9/11 attacks.Lutnick recalled how his college had reached out to help him through his own personal family grief years earlier and and then again helped his employees who had become victims on 9/11. Along with rebuilding the company, he gave gave 25 percent of profits ($180 million) to 9/11 families.On Sept. 11 each year, his 8,000 employees give up a day's pay and the company donates to a variety of charities. This year's amount totaled about $12 million.During a speech to students and parents at Haverford in 2011, Lutnick encouraged his audience to make the most of an opportunity to help someone and change their life. He said he finally realized the importance of what Haverford did for him when it was time for him to reach out and do it for someone else.By Jim Zbickeditor@tnonline.com