Giving Back
“We make a living by what we do, we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill) Winston Churchill was a remarkable man who served in the British military in World War II and won Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1940 and Man of the Half Century in 1949. Churchill’s statesmanship is legendary and his quote speaks to both the common and high-achieving man. This quote connects me to what my family has demonstrated throughout generations and the type of life I hope to live. Both of my grandfathers served this country, one in Vietnam, and the other in the Korean War. To this day, my 80 year old grandmother who was only two years ago spending Christmas in a rehab facility after suffering a stroke, volunteers at her local hospital and at her Temple’s weekly Bingo game. Both of these activities, while charitable, connect her to a community that ultimately derives the benefit of her time and experience. When I visit my grandparents in Florida, it gives me pride to also partake in these forms of volunteerism and to help others that aren’t as fortunate. Studies do not need to be taken to show that giving makes people happier than receiving. When I attended Hebrew School, every week each student would bring in some money, as little as a dime, which we called “tzedakah” meaning charity. At the end of each school year every class had multiple boxes filled with coins that we later donated to the charity of our choice. Currently I am cutting and folding