A few years back, I was having an email exchange with a friend in
Ever since I was a kid, I thought about the power of picking up a phone and dialing someone’s number and how it would get them to get out of their chair and say “hello.” I could even call a house in
To me, this has always been extraordinary.
I thought about how cool it would be to type a few strokes on my computer, and ask my friend to go to the store and buy a tomato or a watermelon or something silly and give it to a random stranger – just to create a bizarre moment on the other side of the country.
In that same spirit, when my friend Mark Jacobs was in
In his characteristic joie de vivre, Mark J. (who was ALMOST chosen as the next Bachelor) jumped on the challenge and had an extraordinary experience which you can read about here.
The following year, Loveleen and I conducted the same $20 experiment with 11 fellows from Indicorps and we got a long personalized response from each fellow with their unique and carefully chosen methods of making a difference with $20. After seeing that long list, it's hard to imagine a better investment of $220.
If you are interested in seeing what kind of effect you can have, I’ll be happy to act as your tenticles on the other side of the globe. To play along, click here.
Just today, we were able to buy a gas stove, grains and basic food for six months, and stainless steel containers for a small family living in the slum. The woman had acid thrown over her face by her (now ex-)husband, permanently melting her face and burning out her eyes. Her young sister, Bumika, who is really only a child, takes care of everything and is an amazingly bright spirit. The whole cost was only about $50, but will make a world of difference to them.
There are many such examples.
For the record: I deny everything.
Posted by: MBJ | April 23, 2005 at 09:12 AM