Give more than you take...

Give more than you take and you'll make the world a better place.

~ a quote by me

I just read an article in the Midtown Post, a free paper delivered to homes and condos in the area I live. It's directed at people with a higher than average level of income.

The article in question asked if a $400 haircut was really worth it? My answer to that is, why would you even consider such a thing? That much money could sponsor a child in a developing country for one year. Is your hair worth as much as the well-being of another person? It seems quite outrageous to me.

Bill and Melinda Gates seem to have the right idea. They started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with input from foundation trustee, Warren Buffet, they've given out grants of nearly $24 billion since 1994. Here is a statement taken from their foundation fact sheet:

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

But, you don't even need to go that far. You can do something as easy as volunteering at your local food bank every now and then. For me, I volunteer at an Out of the Cold program at a church in downtown Toronto. We provide hot meals to underprivileged youths every Tuesday evening from November to the end of April.

As well, I help out with an organization called Project 417. Among other things, we take groups out to deliver bag lunches (sandwich, box drink, apple and snack) to homeless people on the streets of downtown Toronto.

There are a lot of things we can do to make a difference in peoples' lives. We just have to shift the focus a bit further from ourselves to others and we'll be on the right track.