HemaBlog™

Charitable Thoughts


It’s a new year, and a time of resolutions. How about a resolution to be more charitable? So many I know think of donating time and not money, when for most organizations, nonprofits and the people they serve, money helps the most.

This story sure caught my eye:

In July, Violet and Allen Large of Lower Truro, Nova Scotia, won more than $11 million in a lottery. They have since spent every last penny—none on themselves. “What you’ve never had, you never miss,” said Violet, 78. The couple donated the money to a list of causes that included the local fire department, hospitals, and organizations that fight cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Violet has been undergoing cancer treatments, which has underscored for the couple the limits of wealth. “The money that we won was nothing,” said Allen, 75. “We have each other.” The Week

There are so many causes in hemophilia worthy of a donation: your local chapter, a family in need (yes, we do have many families with hemophilia suffering here in the US). Make a donation in memory of a loved one or in honor of someone you admire to the World Federation of Hemophilia or the National Hemophilia Foundation. I was recently touched when I learned that the New York City Hemophilia Chapter made a donation to the Victory for Women campaign in my honor!

You can also sponsor a child with hemophilia in a developing country through Save One Life. Despite some tough economic times here, we still live like kings compared to an average day in their lives. Visit www.SaveOneLife.net to see some children in need.

And remember the great words of Winston Churchill: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. Let’s make 2011 a year of giving.

Great Book I Just Read
Deliverance by James Dickey
I had to read this after writer Pat Conroy noted it as one of his top five favorite books. I had seen the excellent movie, which contains one of those lines that has gone down in movie history. The book, my second on a Kindle, is excellent, too. Terse, exciting, horrifying, it pits man against the elements, man against society and man against himself. Everything balanced becomes unbalanced as four city slickers take a canoe for a weekend down the last great river of Missouri before it gets dammed. They encounter much more than they ever thought, leading to questions of justice, revenge, poverty, retribution, evil and survival. Three stars.

Leave a Comment

HemaBlog Archives
Categories