LDM's Philanthropy challenge 2012

[Lord Dottore Matto]

LDM's Philanthropy Challenge 2012

I have been going back and forth about doing this (no time, expense, etc.) but I decided that if not now, when? It is a time in our World with a great deal of economic despair. We have all felt it. I personally work two full time jobs to make half the money I did 5 years ago. 61% of the new-graduate Veterinarians in the United States this year (2012) got a job. That is where we are. It scares me to death. I need to do something to create some positive energy. I want to pay it forward and I want all of you to help me. What will it do for me? Other than make me feel useful, probably nothing. What will it do for you? Hopefully it can make you and someone else smile. I see so many "vacant" eyes every day that I just need some positivity.

This challenge, like its forebear in 2008, is simply this...do something nice for someone, then post it up at JSSDC, Fx, theRPF or at TCSS. This first post will be copied to all four forums. That is all you have to do. The challenge ends on December 31st at 11:59:59 PM. I am the sole judge. So what does the winner get? A lightsaber of course. For the 2008 challenge, I gave a highly customized MR conversion. For this one, I go a step further. I will machine a 100% scratch hilt. It won't be a 50 hour project, but it will be nice. It will be duel-worthy. It will have MR sound and most likely 4aaa batteries. Can these things change? If other Sabersmiths donate to the cause, then the particulars can indeed change. I am not soliciting. I will do this myself if need be and am fully prepared to foot the entirety of the project but if I know some of my peers I just may have a bit of help.

That is all. Post those positive actions. They need not be big. They can be as simple as walking an elderly lady across the street. I have no preconceived notions of what people find to be "kind". I look forward to reading some positivity every day for the rest of the year. I will check every thread each day. I hope everyone participates and it is my sincerest desire that this touches all of you and makes all of us at least infinitesimally better people.

@ Fx: http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index...9131#msg519131

@ The RPF: http://www.therpf.com/f12/ldms-phila...2012-a-169304/

...and the winner is:

[bk_renesis]

Weeellllll.... Funny thing this should come up actually. Yesterday, 29-11-12, was one of the hottest November days followed by the hottest night in melbourne Victoria (Australia) in over a hundred years. Peaked at 39.5 degrees Celsius (101.3 degrees Farenheit) with extreme uv levels during the day. The whole company decided to start work at 5:30am to avoid some of the heat.

Being the warehouse manager I was taking a large delivery during lunch time and just saw that everyone was struggling. I decided they all needed a treat. I took off to the supermarket and purchased ice cream (Maxibons.... Mmmmm) for the 40 odd workers we have on the floor. It was great to see people liven up as I handed them out and even restored some of the motivation back to the atmosphere.

Being the hot day that it was the cooled water fountain in the cafeteria was getting its fair share of use and stopped working. Diagnosis was that the filter from the main water supply was blocked. What did Uncle Baz do... Call the repair guy, what did he say... He'll be there in a week.... What did Baz do... Raised a personal purchase order and purchased a filter from the warehouse we use on the caravans (RV) we build and, swapped it out and gave it a good flush. Well, let me tell you it feels good to do things for others.

Oh, I almost forgot... I also made sure that all the caravans in the finishing section were connected to mains power enabling the use of the AC. A lot of happy people, I tells ya!!! Well I must say I got promised a lot of beers on the house next time we go to the pub for drinks after work!!!

Just made the day easier to get through.


Cheers,

Baz.

[Lord Dottore Matto]

Thank you for sharing. That is a wonderful story and very kind things to do. Giving of ourselves while expecting nothing in return is one of the finest human qualities

[bk_renesis]

Hey it doesn't take much to put a real smile on people's faces, I love the people I work with, and it was the least I could do.

[MandoJoe]

My mother-in-law works for NASA, and her office gets together every year and assembles care packages for soldiers/marines/airmen/sailors overseas. This year my wife and I helped supply and assemble, and she and I shipped the first round going out. We're currently working on the next set. In total there will be four shipments going out. It's not much, but as a former soldier myself, I know that every little bit helps.

My wife and I are also rescheduling our own holiday celebrations with our various families so that we can work double shifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This way our co-workers with kids/family coming into town have the time to spend with their families.

[Lord Dottore Matto]

My mother-in-law works for NASA, and her office gets together every year and assembles care packages for soldiers/marines/airmen/sailors overseas. This year my wife and I helped supply and assemble, and she and I shipped the first round going out. We're currently working on the next set. In total there will be four shipments going out. It's not much, but as a former soldier myself, I know that every little bit helps.

My wife and I are also rescheduling our own holiday celebrations with our various families so that we can work double shifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This way our co-workers with kids/family coming into town have the time to spend with their families.

I LOVE this. Kindness to our Service men and women rank very highly with me. Thank you and thank you for sharing.


@everyone else...let's go!!! TCSS was an amazing contributor to the 2008 Challenge and we only have two responses so far? Come on! Don't be shy. Share kindnesses done for you or by people you know. Any positive act of human kindness works!

[Weaver]

It's not much, but I've got one:

I'm pretty much self-employed at this point, but business has been very slow. I work in both maille (more commonly known as "chain mail") and nylon whipmaking, but the whipmaking has been the focus of my attention for the past three years. I have had a long period of stagnation since losing my regular job, and my mate has just about had it with me moping about the house all the time. I finally received a commission request from a client in the UK and jumped at the chance to get back into my workshop. You see, I get bored very easily. If I don't have something to do, I go stir-crazy. I get depressed. Depression usually saps me of all motivation, leading to a self-propogating cycle of inaction. Of course I was happy to have the work!

However, having never shipped out of the United States, I was woefully unprepared for the shipping quotes I received. Unfortunately, the sale had already gone through and with a decided shipping cost of $20US. Out of curiosity, I decided to estimate how much it would cost to ship the client's TWO 4.5ft 12-plait nylon bullwhips. Assuming I can fit both in a flat-rate box, the lowest cost I could get was $40US. This is on top of the $34US I'd already spent on the new paracord I needed for his whips, since the colors he wanted were not in my inventory. Of the original $220US, I will see about $150US.

Now, I won't lie: Business has been slow. I'm next to flat broke, and I need every cent. But I've built my reputation as a craftsman around quality, durability, service, and honesty. I want to make money, but I can't bring myself to ask for more. We decided on a price and I was paid in full. Even knowing that I'll take a loss, I have decided to let it go. I made an error in judgment, and I refuse to pass that on to my client.

I just don't think Vader's approach is a sound business model. I am a man of my word; I don't "alter" my deals.

[amwolf]

I was talking to my wife about this thread, and the sense of shame I felt because while I've scratched checks to charities and public radio stations and done work for Architecture for Humanity, in retrospect I don't feel like I've really done anything because there are no PEOPLE involved there. Just organizations. My wife, however, is my truly better half, so I'll share her story:

Her sister Mary teaches school in rural Kentucky as a speech pathologist (essentially helping to get kids to speak proper English because even something as simple as that opens doors later in life for them), and some of the students come from exceptionally poor families. These are kids that wouldn't eat today if it weren't for the school lunch program; kids who don't have books at home, shoes or clothes that fit; sometimes they live with a relative because their parent is in jail. These are kids from families who receive assistance from those same big, faceless charities I give to, which help but miss the mark with little but very important things. What's truly frightening is that she only lives about an hour south of us... Every year at this time my wife gives her sister $100, with no questions asked, which Mary uses to take one of these kids shopping for essentials - shoes, coats, socks, whatever they need, and always a few books. The kids and their families are never told where the money comes from specifically, save that it isn't Mary's and the donors wanted it to help people directly and if she knew anybody. That way, there's less push back about "taking charity." If she gets two such donations, she'll help two kids, and so on, and she can really stretch those dollars. When my wife could, she'd sent a little more... and I had no idea that she was doing it, really. She says she mentioned it years ago, but I wasn't paying attention.

So now my shame is doubled, and the check I write tonight will not make that go away. But Mary will see that the money goes where it needs to, and I hope she and my wife forgive me for not being there sooner.

[TrypWyr]

So this one is not about me, but rather my wife.

Cass worked for about 3 years to get her bachelors degree in Project Management. Of course, this is all while trying to raise two very young children (and one very old one, who insists on building lightsabers and telling her about them, ad nauseum). But, like LDM stated, getting a job right out of school is not the easiest thing to do. Also like LDM, we both lost our jobs around the time she started school and are just now making a little over half of what we were previously.

About 6 months ago she started volunteering for the non-profit Wyakin Warriors foundation, http://www.wyakin.org. This amazing woman works twelve hour shifts dispatching and coordinating helicopters for a local hospital, then meets with the Wyakin staff on her "days off" to provide project management assistance for free. She was selected to be on the planning committee for the inaugural Guardian Ball, which we will be attending tomorrow night thanks to the grace of a sponsor who paid for our tickets.

She is one of the most selfless women I've ever met and I'm a very lucky man!

[Lord Dottore Matto]

Now we're talkin'. Fellas, I love the well thought out responses here. Very "significant" contributions and I love each one. The posts about the kindnesses of others (your wives) are wonderful for this thread. Those count just as much and something "you" did yourselves. Thankyou for sharing!