I was in a hurry yesterday afternoon so when a sad looking women with her young child in tow asked “can you help us?” I just kept walking. As I rounded the corner I stopped and considered her question. What kind of help did she need? Was she just looking for a handout that I probably could have given her? I considered for a moment that she might not even be what she seemed but realized that was a weak rationalization for not stopping. I thought back to the days of Mayor Koch when he told New Yorkers not to give handouts on the street but rather to give money to charities who were set up to help the homeless. Mayor Koch’s message has stuck with me for the last twenty years. So, after my brief hesitation, I just kept walking so I wouldn’t be late.
Earlier that day I spent two hours with my son at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in NYC at a public service event set up by the Children for Children Foundation focused on youth volunteering and giving. The event featured 12 hands-on service projects including making fleece scarves for the elderly, creating “Adopt Me†dog bandanas for the ASPCA, assembling care kits for homeless shelters, etc. My son illustrated a few birthday cards for the elderly while I went around taking photos we could use for their website. This was the fifth or six year my kids and I had attended this event which initially involved a few hundred kids and has grown to at least two thousand this year. (Citigroup was the primary underwriter of the event this year and kudoos to them for their strong participation.) In the interest of full disclosure, I’m on the board of Children for Children and Renegade has done all of their web work and helped produce the first two MLK Youth Volunteer event days. As such, I take a lot of pride in the continued success of this event and it warms the heart to watch so many kids of all ages and races work together to help others. (It is also easy for me to envision that MLK, Jr. Day could become a national day of volunteerism which would be really amazing and appropriate.) After the event, my son and I had a great chat on the bus ride across town and continued the conversation over a huge lunch at EJ’s Lunchoenette. All in all, it was a wonderful morning. We had given a little and got a whole lot in return.
This event was also on my mind when the lady on the street asked “can you help us?” After all, hadn’t my son and I helped make life a little better already? Did I really need to do more on that day? I got to wondering how much is enough? Sainthood really isn’t an option here so I tried to cut myself some slack. Yet after my vigorous paddle tennis game (yes, that was the all important event that propelled me past the lady and her child), I went back to the same corner to seek them out. Perhaps I could buy them some food or at least I could find out what kind of help they needed. When I rounded the corner full of new found good will, they were not there. Life is not a Disney movie. I could not help them. At least not that day.
Are you walking by a charitable organization that could use your support? Is there are Marketing for Good opportunity staring you in the face? Can you help us?