No Gift-Wrap Required

December 4, 2017

Beloved Family,

For many people less fortunate than we, this has been a particularly perilous year. We are thankful every day that we wake up in a comfortable home, in a safe, clean, functioning municipality, with access to clean water, cheap energy, and decent healthcare, not to mention our well-stocked larder and closets, art-filled walls, and crammed bookcases. We are grateful to not be among a population, here and around the world, targeted for oppression, or whose very survival is threatened.

One thing you can say about us Americans is that we are perhaps the most giving, charitable people on Earth. Of course, some non-governmental organizations exist because our own social safety net does not match our great wealth. Nonetheless, I believe it’s safe to say that the state of philanthropy here is one measure of national greatness about which we can all be proud. As JFK said in his Ask Not speech: For of those to whom much is given, much is required.

So much for the preamble; now to the point. We invite you this year and every year going forward, to make your gift to us a contribution, in our name if you wish, to one of the charities listed below.

Here is a selected list of 501C3 organizations, all of them vetted with Guidestar: https://www.guidestar.org/search.

The tax deduction, of course, is yours. And, no gift-wrap required!

International Rescue Committee https://gifts.rescue.org/

Doctors Without Borders http://www.msf.org/en/donate

Partners in Health https://www.pih.org/

Take Stock in Children http://www.takestockinchildren.org/

The Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/?redirect=https-301

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Joyous Christmas, Happy Hanukkah.

Love,
Us