Motivational Speech
Ronald Regan famously said, “We fought a war on poverty and poverty won.” With 46 million Americans, 15 percent of the population, now counted as poor, it’s tempting to think he may have been right. In a previous speech I discussed the dismal effects that poverty is having on the public of America along with pinpointing certain steps that we as community can take in aiding and finally putting an end to this bizarre coincidence that has no place in the structure of a free-world democracy nation that we as Americans hold so dear to our hearts. Today in my speech I will recap how dire this situation is, how you as an individual can help in the aiding of this endeavor and finally paint a picture for you of what our country might become if we do not find a remedy to this problem.
According to a news article published by the New York Times, “the Census Bureau classifies about 97.3 million Americans as low-income, defined as households earning up to twice the poverty level.” They and the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line make up 48 percent of the U.S. population. Sheldon Danziger, a poverty specialist at the University of Michigan, said the numbers are likely to rise as more people fall out of the middle class but “are considered too ‘rich’ to qualify” for social safety-net programs. Statistics like these prove the ever increasing need for charitable organizations and the impact they can make on society as a whole, with the help of the 50% of Americans who are still able to make a decent living and for themselves and their family members. Now that I have demonstrated to you how dire our need to fix this perplexing situation is, I will now discuss with you ways in which you as an individual can help assist.
Now you might at this time be saying to yourself: Poverty is an issue best left for some politician or bureaucrat in D.C. to combat. I am here today to tell you that this is completely false. We as a community should be able to unite and handle the problem with a positive outlook on the situation. There are many charitable organizations that you can visit online. Whether threw donating indirectly to assisting in delivering supplies and aid to victims of the times directly, all help is warranted. Organizations such as Operation Blessing provide disaster relief assistance, bring clean water, and provide hunger relief through food banks along with initiating community development programs in impoverished communities such as skills training and micro-enterprise loans. Provided below is a link to their website so you can join the fight today. There are also programs such as clubs and organizations right here at Penn State that we as a community need to take full advantage of if we ever hope to make a dent in this problem. For example, UNICEF, a global humanitarian relief organization, provides children with education, health care and immunizations, clean water, nutrition, food security, emergency relief and more. The US Fund for UNICEF works to raise awareness and support for UNICEF and the work they do around the world. This organizations gets involved in many outreach programs affecting thousands of people around the country as well which is well demonstrated by their Week Zero Sale in which they sold water bottles for two dollars, and at the end accumulating over $900 dollars in revenue for kids relief aid for those living in south Philadelphia, so once again I