Holiday Giving Near & Far

We were so excited to have the opportunity to make such a large impact on so many people and organizations this holiday season—thanks Mom and Dad for the help and the gentle nudge to move us in that direction. When deciding where we most wanted to help, a number of different organizations and people came to mind. There was one cause and organization that was particularly important to us this year, and other opportunities to give back that allowed us to give in ways we'd always wanted to give, but hadn't actually followed through.

We decided to make two donations to TEB's Troops, the organization set up by friends of Tricia E. Black ("TEB"), Sarah's friend and former colleague who passed away in July after a courageous battle with melanoma. During her illness, TEB researched grassroots and established organizations that support melanoma research and provide financial assistance to individuals who qualify for the types of experimental treatments that TEB was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in as part of her treatment. It was TEB’s wish that TEB’s Troops would continue to raise funds for these organizations regardless of the outcome of TEB’s personal battle, and TEB's Troops has done so in an incredibly smart and commendable way (www.tebstroops.com). Our two donations to TEB’s Troops were made in honor of Joel Johnson and in honor of TEB herself. Through these two donations, we hope we have done at least a little bit to honor two people who were amazing beyond description, the loss of whom this year touched us both so deeply. We learned so much from Joel and TEB and their memories remind us every day to value the people we love and live everyday to the fullest.

Our next donation was made to Nothing But Nets (www.nothingbutnets.net). Nothing But Nets is an organization Kevin learned about after reading a column by Rick Reilly on the back page of Sports Illustrated. The original column Kevin read was written some months ago, and it was kind of shocking in it's simplicity. Essentially, millions of kids in Africa die each year from malaria. This can be prevented by providing the kids, and their families, with mosquito nets, and teaching them how to use them. That easy! For whatever reason, as moved as Kevin was at reading about this, nothing was done to contribute to the effort until this opportunity presented itself, which just happened to coincide with another column by Reilly asking for contributions. It really hit home how much we in civilized society take for granted and how such a relatively small contribution on our part can have such a profound and meaningful effect on those truly in need.

Finally, we gave $20 gifts to five of the homeless men and women that Sarah encounters regularly on her walk from the train to her office downtown. We originally considered giving McDonald’s gift cards, but on our way to McDonald’s to pick them up, we decided that we simply preferred to give cash. We know that it’s always possible that one or all of them took the money and bought a bottle of booze or cigarettes, or something else that our first instinct told us would be a waste of money…but after discussing it we decided that the purpose of the gift was not to impose our morals on these people, (especially because neither of us can pretend to have any idea what would be the most appreciated gift by each of these people), rather, the reason we wanted to make the gift was to, even if just momentarily, lift the spirits of folks who don’t seem to have much to look forward to during the holiday season. Ultimately, we decided to let each of these people decide how best to spend their money. Whether that was on something they "needed" or just "wanted." In whatever form that came for each of them, we hope it made the day a little easier and happier than it otherwise would have been.

Thanks again so much for the opportunity to make such a difference this year and for reminding us during the holiday of how fulfilled we are. Spending the holidays in Portland & Steamboat we feel SO blessed to have the family & friends around us that we do. We will continue to seek out opportunities to help others experience a fraction of the love and support that we are lucky to experience ourselves.
Happy Holidays!

Love,

Kevin & Sarah