Pass It On........

I was recently listening o a podcast with Paulius as we were riding down the road.

One of the subjects the guys were talking about was birthday gifts and how sometimes people will make a "gift/donation" in your name to a charitable foundation/organization.

I have a BIG problem with that idea.

First of all, I don't get a gift.
JUST KIDDING............!!!!!!

The real objection I have to that idea is that most of those things are for things like a "goat for a third world family"...or some other foreign good.
No- I would MUCH rather you call me up and ask me what charity you should make the check out to.

While I feel for the innocent children in the third world countries, I have more sympathy for the homeless and hungry here in my own country. Give to THEM instead. Make a check out to the local food pantry or actually go to the supermarket or one of the super-saver ones like Save-a-lot or Aldi or Poor Richards and BUY a load of canned goods and staples and bring it to the food pantry or the local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.

Or you could find a family thru the church or school and sponsor those children for school supplies or Christmas gifts.

I also have a soft spot for Cancer Research. I have lost so many good friends and family members to that horrible disease. Nothing would please me more than helping with stamping out that horrible disease. Or ANY disease for that matter.

It kills me to see a homeless person on the street corner with a sign that says "Will work for FOOD". Knowing I'm two paychecks away from being there myself and knowing I can't help them but seeing the hopelessness and pain in their eyes. There are a lot of fakers out there that panhandle for a living instead of getting a real job, but you can tell the difference in the fakers and the truly desperate. There is a look about them...like I said, Hopelessness, Desperation, and Pain. Look in their eyes. And say a prayer for them even if you can't do anything more.

And if you give a gift like that for me- put it in memory of my son Clayton Howe and his brother Frank, who is still out there helping when he can.
They're the person who would stop and help someone stranded on the side of the road even if it made him late for work and took money out of his pocket.
They're the person who would give his own lunch to the "will work for food" person standing on the street corner.
They're the person who would give his umbrella to the person waiting in the rain for the cops to show up at an accident site.
They're the one who would stop when he saw a man hitting a woman or trying to drag her by the hair to the car.

So much can be done to help others every single day. Just look around. You'll not have to look far to find someone in need.