Column: Reach deeper
Zach Psick
Issue date: 3/9/10 Section: Opinion
Last week I was invited to join a Facebook group created by Hamline graduate Jordan Dibb called, "I Walk for Love." Beginning March 27, Dibb will leave Minneapolis on foot, planning to walk 1800 miles to Miami in 100 days to raise money for Haiti. He has partnered with Action Against Hunger and hopes to raise $100,000 by the end of his walk. One hundred thousand dollars? The amount makes you think he must be one of those older alums who give money to get their names on buildings.
He's not. Dibb is 23-years-old. He graduated last year and has been looking for a place to start his career. Then the earthquake hit and he wanted to help.
Dibb describes his thoughts on his Facebook page: "I didn't have money to donate, nor did I have enough experience to be a volunteer; what I realized I did have was the ambition to do something great for an awesome cause!"
So Dibb and his family created a website, a blog, Myspace, Twitter and Facebook accounts, all with links to a site where you can donate to his cause. His goal? To get 100,000 supporters, each of whom will donate a dollar.
But many won't. College students in particular seem not to realize how easy it now is to give or how much of a difference a lot of people, each giving a small amount, can make.
But we are in a unique period in time. More and more, young people care about the suffering of others, and it has never been so easy to do something about it.
Many of us relate to Dibb; we are a long way from having money to spare. But most of us can afford to give something on occasion, even if it means occasionally skipping a night at the movies or passing on a $5 coffee drink. How much of a difference can $5 or $10 make? Well, Dibb is only asking you for a dollar. Another local charity, Feed My Starving Children, makes meals for children around the world for 17 cents each.
So, if you skip one meal that costs around $10, that money would buy 55 meals for people who may otherwise have gone hungry. One less meal for you (replaced, most likely, by Ramen noodles or PB&J) equals over 50 meals for others.
He's not. Dibb is 23-years-old. He graduated last year and has been looking for a place to start his career. Then the earthquake hit and he wanted to help.
Dibb describes his thoughts on his Facebook page: "I didn't have money to donate, nor did I have enough experience to be a volunteer; what I realized I did have was the ambition to do something great for an awesome cause!"
So Dibb and his family created a website, a blog, Myspace, Twitter and Facebook accounts, all with links to a site where you can donate to his cause. His goal? To get 100,000 supporters, each of whom will donate a dollar.
But many won't. College students in particular seem not to realize how easy it now is to give or how much of a difference a lot of people, each giving a small amount, can make.
But we are in a unique period in time. More and more, young people care about the suffering of others, and it has never been so easy to do something about it.
Many of us relate to Dibb; we are a long way from having money to spare. But most of us can afford to give something on occasion, even if it means occasionally skipping a night at the movies or passing on a $5 coffee drink. How much of a difference can $5 or $10 make? Well, Dibb is only asking you for a dollar. Another local charity, Feed My Starving Children, makes meals for children around the world for 17 cents each.
So, if you skip one meal that costs around $10, that money would buy 55 meals for people who may otherwise have gone hungry. One less meal for you (replaced, most likely, by Ramen noodles or PB&J) equals over 50 meals for others.
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