Your money's no good here

Recently on PARTNERS+simons blog, Tom Simon's posted a reflection about his marketing firm's pro-bono work over the years developing ad campaigns that garnered attention for a number of nonprofits, including our own United Way, The Leeway Center, and The Schwartz Center among others. My colleague Chris has talked a bit about skills-based volunteering and pro-bono campaigns in other posts, but today, I want to draw your attention to something that stood out to me in Tom Simon's post. Reflecting on the firm's pro-bono work, he wrote:

I was struck, during said rare retrospective moment, that this portfolio is representative of our attachment to, and engagement with, our community. This body of work is not a part of a grand strategy, or to curry favor with potential clients. It is simply the result of seeing the occasional opportunity to contribute our time and talent locally, and doing that.

We have been talking an awful lot about the idea of LIVING UNITED here at United Way. And in doing so, we've been asked, "What does that mean?" For me, in the above statement, Tom Simons pretty much sums it up. It's about building a perspective that integrates your life, your work, and your influence into a larger purpose. Which means, very simply, that you don't have to be in any particular field to have an impact on our community. You just have to have a conscience. And the imagination and vision to figure out how to apply your skills to advance the common good.

I have a favorite quote, by Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health, that I've hung onto for years now. Time may have skewed it a bit, but by memory it goes something like this:

“For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering, and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate some of that suffering or even eradicate it, and you act.”

Now, I think -- and I'm standing on no special credentials when I say this -- but I believe that we have to get to a point as a community where all of us, regardless of our professional fields or economic backgrounds, stop questioning whether or not it is our position to act, and start thinking about how best to do so.

It is clear by the breadth of work in their pro-bono portfolio that Tom and his staff have excelled at it. They aren't alone in this, but their blog post particularly the statement above, made me want to highlight them. I'd love to hear in the comments about any other companies or groups that you think have done a particularly good job at adapting their skills to make an impact in the community.

Thanks...