In these tough economic times it’s not uncommon for many of us to hunker down and focus on how this climate is affecting us and our families. I myself tend to cut back on extra spending, often limiting my contributions to the various chartible organizations to whom I give regularly. But as I listened to Intel Chairman Craig Barrett’s keynote at CES today, a different feeling overwhelmed me: I felt the urge to give and to give more.
Dr. Barrett shared some troubling numbers on education in emerging countries. (The staggering statistic that suck in my mind was that 75 million children in the world are not in school.) He was then joined onstage individually by musical powerhouses Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows. They each highilighted the important work that organizations like Save The Children and Kiva.org are doing to provide necessary services for children and economic support for entrepreneurs and small business owners in emerging countries from around the world.
But Dr. Barrett and the two Adams didn’t spend all their time
discussing the dire straights faced by much of the world’s population.
They also talked about what we can do about it.
“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.”
This quote lingered on the screen and set the stage for the
challenge Dr. Barrett then issued to the audience. He encouraged us all
to take any small step we could to brighten the lives of our fellow
global families. Specifically, he announced a new Intel website Small Things Challenge, where by simply clicking a button, Intel will donate money to Save the Children and Kiva.org.
As I sat in the darkened hall listening to the keynote while
Twittering away on my Blackberry I received an email from a colleague
at Intel. She had recently worked with Journeys Within Our Community to
sponsor a student in an emerging nation on behalf of our work team. And
this student had sent us her first correspondence thanking us for
supporting her and vowing to keep us informed on her status. As I sat
listening to the wonderful words of Dr. Barrett and digesting this
inspiring email from this very grateful girl a world away from my own,
I realized that I really did have the power to make a difference.
So won’t you take a minute and a small step? Log on to the Small Things Challenge. and make your own difference in the live of someone else.
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