Feed Him for a Lifetime

From an old proverb: Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day; teach him how to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime. That saying’s been credited to everyone from Maimonides to Lao-Tzu.

When you think about giving back, what is your bigger purpose? What are you trying to change? How can your skills make a sustainable change? This world needs help.

It is rewarding to work in a soup kitchen, and it is important. But when you think of working for a charity, consider whether your time is helping to find a long-term solution to a problem. As examples: If you can educate a child, it can change the outcome of his or her life forever. If you contribute money to buy a cow for a family in an impoverished country, you give that family a means to care for themselves. And if you are willing to give serious time working to change public policy, that can be incredibly rewarding, and your work can truly make a difference.

Our rush comes from helping a high school student who couldn’t otherwise find a way to afford college with a scholarship. We find true excitement in supporting an effort that changes the prospects for premature babies and, in doing that, helps families be whole and free from worry. We are in awe of the people who are advancing the fight against diabetes and ovarian cancer, and we search for ways that our dollars can help them make a difference.

Our primary focus is always on great people—one by one, program by program, without fanfare—and on making our dollars and time go farther by supporting people who can create these breakthroughs with their dreams, passion, drive, and, yes, hearts.