No Matter How Small

Once again, fortune has not smiled upon me by providing me with a massive lottery win which would enable me to give to every cause I support on Giving Tuesday. The Universe does not owe me this. Nonetheless it’s a longstanding fantasy. Imagine having the joy of having so much money that you could give it away with abandon.

Sigh. We all have our dreams.

If you read this blog long enough you will be aware of the local causes I support. I won’t drag you through that litany again. I’m sure you have your own. And, like me, you have a finite amount of discretionary income to play around with on Giving Tuesday, or, on any given day of the year.

I am going to do something different this year.

On Thanksgiving when I bowed my head to say the grace I found I could not give thanks without also offering up prayers for the Middle East. Those in Israel who suffered from the attacks of Hamas. Those in Gaza who have withstood continued attacks from the IDF. No amount of food or family togetherness could put those searing images out of my head.

So today I’m looking at making my small donations to causes outside the Columbia/HoCo bubble:

Doctors Without Borders

World Central Kitchen

Every year I am overwhelmed by the onslaught of institutions vying for donations on Giving Tuesday. I try to remind myself that it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. In my dreams the lottery has made me a full-time philanthropist. In real life I must do what I can with what I have.

And then there’s this, my favorite quote in all the world:

“No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” - - Aesop, from the story of the lion and the mouse

If you’d like to make some suggestions about Giving Tuesday to the rest of us, you can share them here:

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