Michael Franti Quotes

From my early school days, I was brought up with the belief that we have a duty to use our talents, to volunteer and to make a contribution.

The idea of community and helping others has always been a part of who I am. Growing up, my parents always made sure that my siblings and I were doing our part to serve our local community.

My mom always said if you have a gift, it is absolutely not about you. So I don't get twisted and think for one second it's all about me.

I've always had a passion for giving back. It's a family tradition that comes from my devout parents. They were always giving back and serving the community. So when I became fortunate enough and blessed to play the game of basketball, I was also fortunate enough to follow in my parents' footsteps and give back like the way they did.

We have to help others. I hope that some of the young players today understand that. It's not about them. The Man Upstairs gave them that ability to play, and play consistently, but he also wants them to open their hearts and understand that people need their help.

I'm not in public service, nor do I ever plan to be, but I give back in my own way.

Giving back has definitely kept me grounded. Stepping outside of yourself to serve a group or community of people who are in need in some facet has a way of doing that. I don't ever want to grow to a place where giving back becomes a foreign concept.

As my parents taught me, by both words and deeds, a life of public services is as much a gift to the person who serves as it is to those he's serving.

We have always been a family that's given back. We just don't make a lot of noise about it.

I do things - whether it's donations or events for good causes or giving back to my community - for the right reason: because I want to. Because it's the best thing to do. I wanna help someone else out. As far as all the attention for it, that's cool if I get it, but I'm not doing it for that reason. Stuff like that doesn't really phase me.

Live for yourself and you will live in vain; Live for others, and you will live again.

Coming from a family of preachers, the idea of giving back has been part of my life as long as I can remember.

I was raised in a spirit of the importance of service to your fellow man. My mom is a senator back home in South Africa. My father is a very caring and generous individual.

My mom really inspired me. She has always taught me it's not about us, it's about what we can give back.

I've been giving back since I was a teen, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving and handing out toys at toys drives for Christmas. It's very important to give back as a youth. It's as simple as helping an old lady across the street or giving up your seat on the bus for someone who is pregnant.

The gratification of helping others is a very American tradition and a Judeo-Christian tradition. Now it is great to see young people creating funds and giving back in all sorts of productive ways. It's a terrifically satisfying thing.

I always knew that I would give back. My mother and my father both believe you have to work hard and give back. That's why I was a volunteer firefighter, that's why I worked in a homeless shelter. I always knew I'd give back, elective office or not.

My humanitarian work evolved from being with my family. My mom, my dad, they really set a great example for giving back. My mom was a nurse, my dad was a school teacher. But my mom did a lot of things for geriatrics and elderly people. She would do home visits for free.

My parents taught us it's important to give back.

God calls us to care for our fellow man, especially the neediest. I feel that call to lift up the less fortunate; the call to improve our communities and our state. It drives me to serve Louisiana as governor.

I want to serve the people.

We have to humble ourselves and the way you do that is by serving other people.

I definitely got my philanthropic genes from my mom and dad. They taught me from a very early age to always lend a helping hand to anyone in need, and I hope to raise my daughter to be a very kind and charitable person.

That's how we grew up - kinda like Pops would put his drums, his percussion and instruments into the car and we would just go to a facility in the Bay Area and he would say to us, 'You think we have it bad? There are people worse off than we are. Let's go give back to the kids.' And that's how we grew up.

When I grew up, and I think about City Council, I look at the men and women then - these were people who just wanted to be a part of the community and give something back. They weren't necessarily trying to use it as a steppingstone to something else. I looked up to those people.