Now is the time to "think globally and act locally"
Sep 27 '01
The Bottom Line We need to remember that the people in need in our own communities still need our help.
Along with everyone else, I have spent the last two weeks trying to cope with what has happened and trying to figure out what I can really do. I have come up with a few ideas/points that I think may be helpful to other people as well as myself.
- Donating Blood -
On September 11 there was a tremendous rush to donate blood here in Boston. So many people went to donate that they ended up waiting in lines for over 5 hours. Donation centers ran out of the plastic bags used to collect blood and the Red Cross has asked companies to wait until early to mid-October before scheduling blood drives.
Much as I wanted to do something right then, I know that my donation of blood will mean just as much in three or four weeks.
- Donating Money -
This is a hard one. There are a lot of people who need help right now. Volunteers need to be fed and given medical attention. Survivors need medical attention. People have been left homeless and the bereaved still need to pay for food, shelter, clothing, schooling, etc.
At the same time my company is getting ready to start its' United Way drive in a few weeks. There are lots of local people that still need my time and dollars too.
After giving it some thought, this is what I came up with. I want to give some money to the relief effort but like most people I have a certain amount of money coming in and no more. So I decided to give up some things for a week. I brought my lunch to work or I went with the budget options. I didn't actually spend my "spending money" for a week and saved that and I didn't buy any meat for a week. By doing those things I was able to save some money and I wrote out my check on Monday. (My company is matching employee donations so I sent it through them so you might want to look at options like that.)
Right now I am back to spending my money the way I did before September 11. Keeping people employed and the economy going is something we can all do.
However, I am not giving up on the amounts I had already decided on for the local and global charities I traditionally donate too. United Way is going to get what I had already planned on giving them. Friends who are walking/running/biking to raise money for local and national charities will still have my financial support. My used clothes are still going to the organization that can sell them to fund their work. I will support the schools and organizations I worked with. I will still pay to send holiday food baskets to people in need throughout the country and I will still continue to sponsor a little girl living overseas. I will also continue to give my time to the organizations I support. They still need my help and I will give it.
Right now we need to "think globally and act locally". I can't dig at "ground zero" or prepare meals for the volunteers or comfort the bereaved but I can continue to live my life the best way I know how. It honors the dead and the living and lets everyone see exactly what we are made of.
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