29 days to go...
December is make-or-break time at every charity on earth. It’s no different at United Way of the National Capital Area.
The major holidays that fall in this month are all about good will and good tidings. If you care about those humans around you who are less fortunate—often through no fault of their own—a gift in December is very much in order. A gift to UWNCA would be especially useful and very much appreciated.
There’s also the wonder of a tax deduction (if you itemize deductions). Cynics love to say that this—and only this—motivates charitable giving. Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags are coming to the end of yet another tax year, and they discover that they may owe the government more than they would like. So, panicky, they give at the end of the year to dodge the tax man.
I try not to be quite so cynical. I give each December for another reason: To try to make next year better than the one that’s about to end.
Money isn’t the only way to do that, of course. But after the harrowing events of 2009, every drop of charity carries additional weight.
More of us are hurting in the Washington area than I could ever have imagined. To help out with the basics—food, shelter, health care—is a clear responsibility this year. But so is the avenue by which a giver gives.
I’m about to write my 43rd consecutive check to the local United Way. I give because I care. But I give via UWNCA because I’m as persuaded as I was in 1967 that this organization gets my money closest to what hurts, and closest to the agencies that can do something about that hurt.
My name isn’t Pollyanna, and I don’t believe in the Tooth Fairy. Nor do I think that my modest gift, by itself, can undo the recession or bring someone’s house back from foreclosure. But I do believe—very firmly—that everyone can and should do what they can. If that happens, we’ll never need millionaires, because we’ll already have many millions. Not to mention the kind of caring, supportive community we all want.
So…29 days to go in this final month of 2009. Let’s make it one to remember, for givers and getters alike.
The major holidays that fall in this month are all about good will and good tidings. If you care about those humans around you who are less fortunate—often through no fault of their own—a gift in December is very much in order. A gift to UWNCA would be especially useful and very much appreciated.
There’s also the wonder of a tax deduction (if you itemize deductions). Cynics love to say that this—and only this—motivates charitable giving. Mr. and Mrs. Moneybags are coming to the end of yet another tax year, and they discover that they may owe the government more than they would like. So, panicky, they give at the end of the year to dodge the tax man.
I try not to be quite so cynical. I give each December for another reason: To try to make next year better than the one that’s about to end.
Money isn’t the only way to do that, of course. But after the harrowing events of 2009, every drop of charity carries additional weight.
More of us are hurting in the Washington area than I could ever have imagined. To help out with the basics—food, shelter, health care—is a clear responsibility this year. But so is the avenue by which a giver gives.
I’m about to write my 43rd consecutive check to the local United Way. I give because I care. But I give via UWNCA because I’m as persuaded as I was in 1967 that this organization gets my money closest to what hurts, and closest to the agencies that can do something about that hurt.
My name isn’t Pollyanna, and I don’t believe in the Tooth Fairy. Nor do I think that my modest gift, by itself, can undo the recession or bring someone’s house back from foreclosure. But I do believe—very firmly—that everyone can and should do what they can. If that happens, we’ll never need millionaires, because we’ll already have many millions. Not to mention the kind of caring, supportive community we all want.
So…29 days to go in this final month of 2009. Let’s make it one to remember, for givers and getters alike.
posted by Bob Levey's United Way at
11:55 AM
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