Who You’ve Helped Me Help and Why – 2018 Charitable Contributions
As many of you know, every year I donate to charitable causes as a way to say “thank you” to all of you for your kindness and support of the practice.
The list is growing and in order to do each organization justice, rather than just listing them off in the necessarily limited space of a newsletter, I’m doing a short series of blog posts to profile each one individually.
In this article you’ll see a short breakdown of who you helped me help this year, and in January I’ll roll out weekly blog posts – one article per organization with more details. If you want to find out what makes each of these causes important to me personally and professionally you can temporarily sign up on the website for blog updates right to your email inbox to help you follow along.
I really like to “keep it local” and believe very much in focusing on our immediate surroundings. The meaningful ripples that we can each create locally have the power to spread (more than we can know) just like those individual raindrops into an ocean.
As the list continues to grow with your suggestions, I may not have the resources to give to each organization every year but I will mix and match and keep each one on my radar going forward.
Here Are My Original Top Picks:
- Food Lifeline – Supporting our food insecure neighbors
- PCC Farmland Trust – Protecting our farmlands to keep our food supply healthy…preserve farm lands locally and promote sustainable, organic methods of growing food.
- Old Dog Haven – Finding homes and caring for abandoned senior dogs…not only finds homes for senior dogs who often have outlived their people, but they also provide a network of foster homes for those that don’t have much longer to live themselves.
This next one I added only a few years ago and in the upcoming dedicated blog post for BBR Foundation, I’ll explain a little bit more of why…
- Brain and Behavior Research Foundation – Eliminating stigma by awarding grants to fund research in the area of mental illness….These funds go toward research grants for the study of a vast range of emotional disabilities including depression, anxiety and the effects of trauma.
And These Are Your Top Picks:
- Westside Baby – Providing basic supplies for children of families in need
- Teen Feed – Responding to basic needs of homeless and at-risk youth
- Ravenna Strings Orchestrafor our Special Coaches and Soloists’ Fund.
- Hernandez-Foy Second Chance Scholarship Endowment Fund through Edmonds Community College Foundation providing encouragement and a “second chance” to students with histories of incarceration or homelessness.
- 6 Dogrees Dog Rescue a small, grassroots rescue focusing on saving local & CA death-row dogs.
Not only do all of my patients continue to expand my awareness with these donation suggestions, but my life is immeasurably enriched by the humanity that each person brings through my office door. The vulnerability and trust you all bring me at varying stages of pain — whether it’s physical or emotional — I consider to be a high honor to be asked to hold and care for. It’s what will always keep me humble and grounded. That is the reason for my gratitude.
Thank you.
*Please note that while I welcome your recommendations for future charitable giving, I cannot consider suggestions for politically or religiously affiliated causes for these annual contributions*
Greg’s Story
