CALM DOWN, Boys (girls)!!!!!!! Got your attention though, didn't I? It seems like at every corner we turn, something devastating is happening. Natural disasters, sudden death, diseases and disabilities with no cure; the list goes on. With our current economic state, charity organizations are suffering. On the same hand, Americans are so good at mobilizing to help the rest of the world, yet we have people without homes or medicine they need to survive. WTF?
Today (as in March 2, 2010), I am a cynic. I believe that charity begins at home, but I am not quite sure that it actually does.Maybe it is just a 'pretty' saying. My earliest memory of charity goes back to a little ditty we used to sing in Hebrew school. I am not sure what the name of the song was, but I recall only these few lines:
"Give a little Tzedakah,
Give a little Tzedakah
Give a little Tzedakah
to the poor and needy
Give a little Tzedakah,
Give a little Tzedakah
Don't be greedy....."
The meaning of the word tzedakah translates to charity. And every little bit counts, so why is it so hard to just give on our own? Rather, why is it so hard to motivate people to give on their own without something extrinsic? I used to throw my pocket change in lint in an aluminum tin without a second thought. I am not sure where that money ended up, but I am hoping it was not in Mr. Lubin's or Dr. Hymen's pocket. *
I am not looking for an answer, but I can tell you that my school does a damn good job at getting out the can of whoop-ass that mobilizes our students to give. Bake sales are a sure thing; cupcakes and donuts go for one dollar. I believe that over two days, for probably a total of an hour, one team of students raised over $1000 for Haiti. I am thinking that I need to sell some baked goods and iced tea outside of my apartment building during high summer season! Other students guessed how many something or another were in a jar, and raised hundreds for Haiti too. Earlier this year, teachers participated in a volleyball game to raise money for heart disease; the kids bought tickets and cheered their favorite teachers, jeered their hated teachers. Not to toot my own horn, but later in the year, provided this spring isn't a washout repeat of last spring, tenured and nontenured teachers will be playing a friendly game of flag football to fuel some healthy staff relations and to raise money for Autism Speaks. Kids will purchase tickets and cheer (and jeer) us from the bleachers out by the track. All they will think about is how funny it is to see their idols and role models get knocked down and dragged out, but really, they will be helping the greater good. Tomorrow, the club I co-supervise with one of my favorite people in the world, Senorita Levy, will be hosting a last minute bake sale. Why? Because one of our kids cannot afford the sweatshirts we ordered to wear to our upcoming competition. When the student skirted around the issue when I asked if she planned to order one, I point blank asked her if it was a financial issue. Quietly she said her mom just could not give her the money for it. When I explained to her the purpose of the bake sale, she lit up and thanked me (us) for doing that for her. Later in the day, I spoke to her mother who was equally as grateful. This Friday, our foreign language department has organized a whipped cream pie eating contest. For $2, students will pay to watch a few heats of teachers attempting to get to the bottom of whipped creme pie and claim the hidden Jolly Rancher...with no hands, in the name of the Chile. While I volunteered immediately, I did request low fat whipped creme. I never said I wasn't high maintenance.
These activities might camouflage the purpose of charity, but they do work. I hope that as they grow up and mature, they learn that charity isn't always fun. I hope that when I have children, rather than ask for a material object as a birthday gift, they request a donation be made to an organization such as the ASPCA or WWF in the name of an endangered animal, such as my triplet nieces did this year.
So when you see my picture on Facebook and I am covered in pie, just know, I did it for a good cause.**
*Mr. Lubin was a Hebrew school teacher. Dr. Hymen was the principal of Hebrew school by night. He was probably a teacher, not a gynocologist by day, as him name might suggest. (too vulgar?)
**I should note that if it were a hot dog eating contest, I would have shown my support, donated a few bucks, and watched from the wings. I LOVE WHIPPED CREAM!
No comments:
Post a Comment