Friday. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are days you want to
spend with family friends and lovers. But you can't wait until the last minute
and expect them to be there, plan ahead. We have this terrific arts center in
town, Most generously donated to the University by a very considerate and hard-working
man named Forbes. It's called The Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. I think
it cost in excess of 93 million to build. Such amazing generosity. I would like
to be that successful that I could do something like that. My other hometown is
filled with philanthropists as well - Eastman, Galisano, Wegman... Eastman gave
my hometown his vision, a medical school, dental school, university, music
school and was so generous to his employees, Mr Galisano, the founder of
Paychex built a children's wing at one hospital, a neuro/brain center at another
and a rehab center as well, all to benefit the local community. The Wegman's
family is also constantly giving to the communities they are located in and to
their employees. (They pay for their employees college tuition if you agree to
work during breaks and semesters) Awesome!
Always wanted to go to the Forbes Center
and saw many venues I liked but was never able due to schedule. So I bought a
bunch of tickets for a Friday night show and took my friends. It is a
spectacular place and the audience was pumped up because a local boy (Phil
Vasser) made good was on stage. Could he play the piano! I thought the keys
were going to burn up! The staff told me most venues sell out and there is something
going on almost every night.
You don't have to have a lot of money to reach out to others
and to do your own mini philanthropy, just the thought to do it and the effort
to act on it. Drop off goods at the food bank, shovel or sweep your neighbors
walk, take someone a meal, say a kind word to someone, smile and be
encouraging, open the door. It's called kindness and it's contagious. it also
helps not to judge because we don't know where the other person has been. Give
them a hand up and an encouraging word. It might go a long way
Reconnect.
Who will you reach out to today?
