Then it don’t matter. I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look – wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad. I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready, and when the people are eatin’ the stuff they raise and livin’ in the houses they build – I’ll be there, too.
The Grapes of Wrath- Tom Joad

I am a father, a writer, a friend and a human being. The most important job in my life is to raise my children to be menschen, to be people of character who are compassionate and productive members of society.

Many of their friends were born lucky, born to affluence and wealth they don’t know what it means to go without. Sometimes my children ask why we don’t go on vacation like some of their friends. Sometimes they wonder why we don’t have a house like them, but what my kids don’t realize is they haven’t really gone without.

They have never known what it is like to be homeless, hungry or clothed solely in hand-me-downs because their parents can’t afford to take care of them. They don’t know what it means to be poor or to be truly worried about important things.

So I think about what I can do to help them appreciate and understand that not everyone is lucky. I work on helping them adopt an attitude of gratitude. It might sound goofy, but it is important to me.

How Do We Do It?

In our house we do it by going through our clothes and our toys to see if there are things we no longer use/need so that we can give to others who do.

We give of our time to help others at different activities and we look for companies that give back and help them too. Sometimes it is by purchasing products from them or by referring friends and family, sometimes both.

TOMS And Children In Need

Sometimes I wrestle with where to spend my money and how to support others because there are so many different opportunities and my resources are limited.

But let’s cut to the chase here, both you and the FTC want to know if I am writing this because I have been compensated. It is a legitimate question and you might think that it is the only reason why I am doing it.

It is not, I am doing it because TOMS shoes have made a commitment to give 1 million pairs of new shoes to America’s children by the end of 2014 and if my post helps them reach and or surpass that goal that is worth something.

And it gives me another opportunity to show my children that there are multiple ways to help give back and that is worth something too.

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