--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That day, I learned that I could be a…" description: "\"“That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years have taught me that a kind word, a vote of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg" --- # That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply… ![“That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years have taught me that a kind word, a vote of support is a charitable gift. I can move over and make another place for someone. I can turn my music up if it pleases, or down if it is annoying…” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg) > ““That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years have taught me that a kind word, a vote of support is a charitable gift. I can move over and make another place for someone. I can turn my music up if it pleases, or down if it is annoying. I may never be known as a philanthropist, but I certainly am a lover of mankind, and I will give freely of my resources.”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kindness and generosity are expressed through small, everyday actions like smiling, supporting, and sharing resources. **In simple terms:** Small acts of kindness are valuable gifts. Key Takeaway Practice daily kindness and share your talents. Themes kindness generosity community self‑expression Mood inspirational hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - music performance - daily interactions Key Concepts social reciprocity empathy personal impact Questions to Reflect On - What small act can you do today? - How does sharing music affect others? A Different Perspective Kindness can feel insufficient without larger systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) [Gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gifts/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Philanthropist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philanthropist/) [Philanthropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philanthropy/) ## Related quotes > [I support most charitable organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-van-gundy/i-support-most-charitable-organizations/) [Stan Van Gundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-van-gundy/) > [In real life I have always been a huge risk-taker, a person who believes and invests in other people's ambitions, so not quite a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jordan/in-real-life-i-have-always-been-a-huge-risk-taker-a-person-who/) [Simon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jordan/) > [“Philanthropist. A rich (and usually bald) old gentleman who has trained himself to grin while his conscience is picking his pocket...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/philanthropist-a-rich-and-usually-bald-old-gentleman-who-has-trained/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/is-the-rich-world-aware-of-how-four-billion-of-the-six-billion-live/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [To be a philanthropist, you don't have to be Nelson Mandela. You just have to look around you and ask, 'What little bit can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/to-be-a-philanthropist-you-don-t-have-to-be-nelson-mandela-you-just/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [“There's nothing wrong in being rich and famous, so long as you're giving back more than you're keeping for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-s-nothing-wrong-in-being-rich-and-famous-so-long-as-you-re/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“To us children he (Mr Ewing) was our very own ‘Mr Chips’ and invariably we would each receive half a crown whenever we encountered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-scott/to-us-children-he-mr-ewing-was-our-very-own-mr-chips-and-invariably/) [Bill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-scott/) > [He is one of those wise philanthropists who, in a time of famine, would vote for nothing but a supply of toothpicks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-william-jerrold/he-is-one-of-those-wise-philanthropists-who-in-a-time-of-famine-would/) [Douglas William Jerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-william-jerrold/) > [Philanthropy is often seen as society's risk capital. That means the onus is on philanthropists, nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs to innovate. But philanthropic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/philanthropy-is-often-seen-as-society-s-risk-capital-that-means-the/) [Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-arrillaga-andreessen/) > [The philanthropist too often surrounds mankind with the remembrance of his own cast- off griefs as an atmosphere, and calls it sympathy. We should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-philanthropist-too-often-surrounds-mankind-with-the-remembrance/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The best philanthropy is not just about giving money but giving leadership. The best philanthropists bring the gifts that made them successful-the drive, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-best-philanthropy-is-not-just-about-giving-money-but-giving/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“The sparkle and morning-freshness of the shop, and the butter-conjuring girl, formed a mind-picture which accompanied the whole of my youth.(about the Buttercup Dairy)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/the-sparkle-and-morning-freshness-of-the-shop-and-the-butter/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [As a philanthropist, I give away a lot of money every year. Yet I thought there was a higher leverage to come in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-skoll/as-a-philanthropist-i-give-away-a-lot-of-money-every-year-yet-i/) [Jeffrey Skoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-skoll/) > [“There's no sell in serve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julieanne-o-connor/there-s-no-sell-in-serve/) [Julieanne O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julieanne-o-connor/) > [Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/wealth-is-not-to-feed-our-egos-but-to-feed-the-hungry-and-to-help/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Charity quotes > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. Instead of spending a dollar to help feed hungry children, why not spend that dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-greatest-charity-you-can-contribute-to-is-yourself-instead-of/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I would have none of that rigid circumspect charity which is never done without scrutiny, and which always mistrusts the truth of the necessities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/i-would-have-none-of-that-rigid-circumspect-charity-which-is-never/) [Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/) > [I'm publicist, patron of nine charities, creative director, food consultant, recipe developer - and mum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-monroe/i-m-publicist-patron-of-nine-charities-creative-director-food/) [Jack Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-monroe/) > [The next time you're looking at a charity, don't ask about the rate of their overhead. Ask about the scale of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-next-time-you-re-looking-at-a-charity-don-t-ask-about-the-rate-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. A. Harper > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [It's always great to be able to give back to the community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-vucevic/it-s-always-great-to-be-able-to-give-back-to-the-community/) [Nikola Vucevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-vucevic/) > [Slander is a poison which kills charity, both in the slanderer and the one who listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-of-clairvaux/slander-is-a-poison-which-kills-charity-both-in-the-slanderer-and-the/) [Bernard of Clairvaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-of-clairvaux/) > [I like to give back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-like-to-give-back/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [We have to restore power to the family, to the neighborhood, and the community with a non-market principle, a principle of equality, of charity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-have-to-restore-power-to-the-family-to-the-neighborhood-and-the/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [I own about 300 pairs of shoes. When I start to go over 300, I have mini-sales from my closet and give the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/i-own-about-300-pairs-of-shoes-when-i-start-to-go-over-300-i-have/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) [Browse all 2,477 Charity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years have taught me that a kind word, a vote of support is a charitable gift. I can move over and make another place for someone. I can turn my music up if it pleases, or down if it is annoying. I may never be known as a philanthropist, but I certainly am a lover of mankind, and I will give freely of my resources.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giver-by-simply-bringing-a-smile/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Charity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giver-by-simply-bringing-a-smile/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/maya-angelou-104_charity_that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giv_3099667.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That day, I learned that I could be a giver by simply bringing a smile to another person. The ensuing years…” — Maya Angelou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That day, I learned that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giver-by-simply-bringing-a-smile/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/that-day-i-learned-that-i-could-be-a-giver-by-simply-bringing-a-smile/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```