The More We Give, The More We Live

This past Monday, my Foundation hosted its 3rd Annual Golf Outing. 

A couple dozen golfers participated in our inaugural event. Last year, it doubled in size. A few days ago, over 60 people showed up to support, donate, and or golf during the hottest day of the year in New York.

Sponsors shipped thousands of dollars worth of apparel and products. Volunteers arrived early and stayed late to register participants, provide gift bags, and collect donations from 50/50 raffles to silent auction items. Everyone contributed what they could, laughed and connected with new and old friends.

We’re building a community.

Since inception, our Meaningful Growth Foundation has financially assisted over 115 cancer patients and their families with medical-related expenses. Depending on ask and need, some recipients receive at least 250 dollars; others have their treatments and operations paid in full (which has sometimes reached two-thirds of a million dollars!). Our differentiation factor is our ability and capacity to guarantee donations go directly to providing hope.

Here’s the story, statistics, and sentiments I shared during lunch after the round of golf concluded:

I remember like it was yesterday… I was 18 years old when my beautiful mother (who is here today) was diagnosed with Stage 3 Lymphoma. When a tragedy hits a family, it becomes an all-hands-on-deck endeavor. Imprinted in my mind was the help and support of friends and strangers — they created a Meal Train in which someone new would drop off dinner for my dad, sister, and me each night, leaving it in a big cooler on our front steps. It gave me hope that help was always on the way.

A few decades ago, Harvard did a study on small animals. Put into a small bin of water, these animals would swim, on average, for 15 minutes before drowning. If and when an animal was saved, pulled out of the water at least one time before being placed back in the bin, it would then swim for upwards of 60 hours. I repeat, 60 hours! These animals, like us, when given hope, will survive, on average, over 240x longer.

I know many of you are here today because you care about me and you want to support my endeavors. Know this: what we are doing together at MGF is far greater than me. Each and every donation to MGF provides hope to a cancer patient to do one thing: hang on until they catch on. Thank you and God bless!

The Meaningful Growth Foundation, through timely financial aid, provides hope.

Our recipients express a level of gratitude that is hard to summarize in words. Our recipients, when saved at least one time, begin to believe in what’s possible. Our recipients embody that belief and, in turn, provide us with hope that our mission matters.

There’s no difference between only thinking about ourselves and feeling miserable. Neuroticism is essentially the same thing as overthinking about oneself. Self-consciousness ties tightly with anxiousness. What am “I” getting? Who cares about “me”? Why are “my” needs not being met by him or her or them?

Too much introspection leads to bitterness and resentment.

The opposite, a focus on giving rather than getting, cultivates uplifting energy via altruism.

The more we give, the more we live. 

Literally.

Do you want to selfishly feel better while simultaneously and selflessly helping others feel better?

Give!

— MG