Also like America, Britain has had its fair share of great individual benefactors. One such man was Thomas Bernardo, who emigrated from Dublin aged seventeen and came to London where he found sick, often orphaned children begging in the streets, generally ending up in prostitution and degradation. This inspired him to start a haven for minors, initially set up in London's East End, which cared for orphans and destitute families alike.
He garnered support for his actions from all corners, encouraging donations from all rungs of society, asking people to give what they could afford. He became renowned for breaking down social attitudes to the poor and undeserving by working with prostitutes and being one of the first to highlight the plight of disabled children. By the time he was thirty he had established a network including a dozen children's homes, employment agencies, and schools.
He was not universally lauded in all quarters, though, as some felt he had dubious financial dealings and was exploitative in some of his actions. Nonetheless, by the time of his death in 1905 he had set up 96 residential homes and it was guessed he had helped the lives of 60 million children, raising millions of pounds in the process.
Philanthropy not dead: The Gates have teamed with Warren Buffett to combat AIDS
Nowadays, philanthropy has never been so prevalent in the modern way of life. Only recently have we witnessed a conglomeration of the world's two richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, by their creation of a superfund to help combat AIDS. In Britain, New Yorker Salvatore La Spada has been made Chief Executive for the Institute of Philanthropy, an appointment which reflects the changing attitudes of the sometimes frugal old world rich to those who have made their fortunes in the new world economy of banking and IT. His idea is that “the people that built this wealth are going to be the same people that drive philanthropy in this country, and that people who have created this kind of wealth themselves will want to create opportunities for others."
It seems that giving has lost none of its charm and is set to continue to play a major role in the development of modern society. 
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