What I spent I lost; what I possessed is left to others; what I gave away remains with me.

Joseph Addison (d 1719)

November is upon us and as you read this blog I will be running, once again, in the New York Marathon.  Running a marathon has become more than a personal achievement, although, those first marathons definitely focused on personal achievement!  I return to New York not just to run a race, but to gather with friends, celebrate life and join together to raise money for one of my favorite causes, Team for Kids.  A program of the New York Road Runners, Team for Kids fosters healthy, fit and motivated kids by bringing free and low-cost running programs to schools and community centers.  When I cross the finish line this year, I won’t be a lone marathoner, but I will cross with the hundreds of thousands of kids who will benefit from the Team for Kids programs.  Believe me.  After over 26 miles, there’s nothing like imagining all of those healthy, smiling faces!

Almost all of us have been impacted by the financial downturn in one way or another, struggling with our financial commitments, experiencing a slow down in work, having less or no income, and in some cases, the loss of a job.  So what I am about to say will sound counter intuitive, maybe a little crazy.  However, I have found in my life, when the path becomes difficult, when failure looms and I can’t seem to catch a break, if I shift my focus away from myself and out to others, I find ways to shake things up!

Ralph Waldo Emerson said service “is one of the most beautiful compensations in life, that no man can ever help another without helping himself.”  How true that is!  I want to challenge all of us this November, to turn our focus outward with a giving heart.  And in the act of giving, I know all of us will find that we receive more than we give.

Let me give you an example.  Another of my favorite charities is Food for the Poor.  This  international relief organization feeds 2 million poor every day. Their various relief programs and projects reach out to children and the poorest of the poor by providing food, housing, health care, education, water projects, emergency relief and micro-enterprise assistance in the Caribbean and Latin America.  If you go to their website you will see the Forty Days of Thanks project.  By setting aside fifty cents every day for forty days you change the lives of the starving poor.  Imagine that!  You may carry a burden about how to make the next car payment or house payment or may be seeing lower profits in your business, but for the cost of six lattes over a period of forty days you can keep a child from starving. 

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

Maya Angelou

Please join me this November in a spirit of giving.  Check out the “Giving Back to the Community” page of my website to see links to charities I actively support (and don’t miss the pictures from this year’s Run for the Wall) or give of your time, talents or resources to a charity dear to your heart.  And let me hear from you.  I’d love to post your story and photos of your giving in November to inspire us all.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain.
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Emily Dickinson

Wishing you a great day,

 Sharon McGee