Think About It
“This leads to the paradox, that because the disease is only in the poor countries, there is not much investment. For example, there is more money put into baldness drugs, than are put into malaria. Now, baldness, it is a terrible thing [audience laughter] and rich men are afflicted, so that is why that priority is set.”
~ William (Bill) Henry Gates III
Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
~ Warren Buffett
Dear Patrons,
There are many individuals who are role models in the area of philanthropy. Most fascinating to me is the humanitarian efforts demonstrated by two of the wealthiest individuals on the planet - Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. These two men are involved in the largest and often most complex businesses in the world, but are not too busy to set aside their time and fortunes for all our benefits. If anyone should be able to say, “sorry, but my business needs me”, it could be these gentlemen, but they don’t. We often paint them as the capitalistic demons of the world, but they have done so much to prove otherwise. They are certainly stepping up and deserve our appreciation.
On an organizational level, there are millions of causes that do great things. I want to highlight one of them, Friendship Circle. My family and I are associated with Friendship Circle and my daughter volunteers for them. While my daughter’s volunteering helps those with special needs and their families get assistance in their ongoing predicament, volunteering has also helped my daughter appreciate the ongoing efforts of those with special needs while not fearing those afflicted.
I also want to mention Chase Community Giving. They have created a social networking campaign that benefits thousands of charitable organizations. Those that win monetary awards can use those funds to further the causes they represent. However, the buzz that Chase has created for the myriad organizations and the participation they initiated is most praiseworthy.
Keep ‘recognizing’ your responsibilities in this world alongside the efforts of all other do-gooders and continue your ‘connections’ with worthy causes. And don’t forget to go to VOTEFC.com by Friday, January 22 to vote for Friendship Circle through your Facebook account.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our day to day existence that we tune out the world around us. We start to believe everything just happens around us without considering those that help make it happen. We accept that as some kind of entitlement. Contributing and volunteering is for ‘them’, not ‘me’. ‘They’ obviously have the time or means but ‘I’ don’t. But then we are called to the plate to do our part, and without thinking we hit a humanitarian home run.
Prior to this month, most of us had heard of Haiti, and some of us could even identify it on the map. We may have known that Haiti was considered to be one of the poorest, least developed countries in the world. We may have heard of the devastation caused by a hurricane that struck Haiti in 2008 killing hundreds. We may simply have remembered that Haiti was connected to the Dominican Republic from our years in elementary school. However, that was likely the extent of our knowledge or concern over Haiti. But then a devastating earthquake occurred in January 2010, and suddenly Haiti jumped into focus and rightfully became the cause of the day.
Despite people’s lack of direct connection to Haiti, in Haiti’s time of need, nations throughout the world are scrambling to be of assistance - this for a country with nonexistent financial value. The outpouring of assistance is being done for altruistic reasons. We have been able to overcome our selfish tendencies and truly care as a result of our humanitarian ideals.
There are many causes in this world. Regardless of one’s personal focuses, we need to continue to keep our eyes on the goings on in our world and help where we can. We may debate our purpose for being in this world, but few can argue that while we are here, we bear a responsibility to our world, to its future and to its inhabitants. If we continue to help our neighbors in this world, we will inevitably be helping ourselves and validating our place on this planet and in this era.
Let’s continue to do our part in the good times and the bad to help out those in need. Let’s keep swinging for the home run.
And most of all, let’s not forget to say ‘Thank You’. Let’s continuously recognize our heroes - our troops, those who grant humanitarian aid, our healthcare providers, those that prepare our meals, those who clean our streets, our local or global do-gooders, our families and friends, and others. They step up every moment of every day to do their part to ensure our comfort and well being. They deserve our recognition and thanks.