One of the greatest qualities of Americans is our generosity. Through the years
we have shared our bounty with those less fortunate both within this nation
and around the world. We have volunteered our time, our services and given our
dollars in ways which sometimes have amazed people from other countries. So
it's not surprising that we have given over a billion dollars to the victims
of the September 11 tragedy.
But because we've given so generously to those relief efforts, hundreds of thousands
of others who need our help may not get it. In Harlem and the South Bronx, just
10 miles away from Ground Zero, for example, some of the poorest people in our
nation live. Even before September 11 they faced astronomical unemployment rates,
high rates of HIV/AIDS, high drop out rates, and had a multitude of social services
needs. But social service agencies in Harlem have been told by many of their
corporate contributors not to expect funds this year and not to hold fundraising
events which require their support. So many of the New York corporations have
contributed tens of millions of dollars to the September 11 fund that they just
don't have the dollars for others.
Likewise, many Americans have made a choice
to give their donations this year to the victims' fund and non-profits which
rely on these contributions are hurting not only in New York, but around the
country. All kinds of social service agencies, from the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
to local food banks, to battered women's shelters, to health clinics, to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are seeing drops in their
donations. In some cases, walkathons like the AIDS walk in Washington, D.C.
were held, but with only a quarter of the usual number of walkers. In other
cases, like the breast cancer survivors' walkathon in Cleveland have been cancelled
or postponed.
Some large national charities seem to have been less hard hit,
but many of them are evaluating whether to do mailings to contributors in the
last quarter of the year, the traditional time of year to ask for annual contributions.
Others, like Habitat for Humanity, have already been forced to lay off employees.
While the drop in donations is not solely attributable to the re-routing of
contributions to September 11 funds, it is clearly a primary factor. In addition,
of course, there is the economic downturn which was already evident before the
attacks, and the ensuing fact that many of the wealthiest Americans have made
less money in the stock market and many others have lost their jobs or are worried
that they will.
But for communities like Harlem and the South Bronx, cutbacks
in services to communities which face a myriad of social service needs may threaten
the very viability of these organizations and thus their communities and their
people. As we approach Thanksgiving, we have much to be grateful for and perhaps
we should all find ways to give thanks by sharing whatever we have with those
less fortunate. Let's dig deep, remembering the good work and the needs of the
many charities across this nation.