Give Back
I challenge you to dig deep and send the charity of your choice a few bucks this year. Every little bit helps.
Don’t have a favorite? Here’s my pitch for three that I think make the world a better place:
> The Hole in the Wall Gang Camps – Paul Newman gave away over $250 MILLION that he earned selling tasty food to create this wonderful place so kids who have life threatening diseases can go to summer camp. Not sure I can add anything else what would make this organization sound more profoundly good than that.
> 826NYC – What grabs your attention when you walk past this cool place in Park Slope, Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. storefront. You can go inside, try out a new cape, buy a gallon of invisibility or trade up your secret identity for a new one.
While superhero supplies is the hook, the real deal going on here is free after school writing tutoring. If a kid asks for help, they’re in. No charge. Then 826NYC volunteers work with them in one-on-one sessions, help them learn to express themselves and get them published. And when kids learn what they have to say has value and how to say it in a way that makes people listen, they are going to grow up to do great things.
Don’t live in New York? Then check out the 826 chapters in Valencia, CA, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Ann Arbor, MI, or Boston.
> Cancer League of Colorado – I have volunteered with CLC for the last few years. Here’s why I give them my time and some cash:
- They’re 100% volunteer. No paid staff or offices. All operating expenses are covered by membership dues. This means ALL OF THE MONEY raised goes back into Colorado cancer research and support.
- An analysis of grants from CLC determined that for every dollar provided as early-stage research grants in Colorado (which is CLC’s main focus), another $20 was raised through subsequent funding by larger organizations to continue the more promising investigations.
Why is the second bite of information so vital? I reconnected with a friend from high school who had cancer in 2008. Here is what she told me when I mentioned I was working on a fundraiser for Cancer League:
“If I had my cancer just five years ago (instead of 2008), I would have died because the researchers hadn’t found the right treatment yet. It was fundraisers like this one that funded the research that found the right treatment for the type of leukemia I suffered from. Thank you with all of my heart.”
Your donation to CLC may not cure it right away, but if that money goes to research, you will help prevent cancer from killing people in the future.
Please take a minute to choose an organization that you thinks is doing good work, and give them some of your time or money. The worst thing you can do is put off doing something.
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