Charity begins at home

Over the years my travels have taken me across this great nation of ours. On those trips the one thing that stands out to me is the generosity of others.

I wanted to share with my readers some of the things I have witnessed when it comes to the charitable giving of others.

In Atlanta I once sat at a hotel looking out of the lobby window when I saw a man carrying a large brown paper grocery bag.

He was being approached by a homeless gentleman. When the homeless man asked for money to buy some food I watched the man put down his bag, reach inside and pull out a loaf of bread and peanut butter and make a sandwich.

This was an ingenious way to immediately satisfy a need without possibly contributing to another vice.

In New York City I watched as a man took his leftovers out of a restaurant and immediately placed the food on top of the nearest garbage can.

I thought he had forgotten his doggie bag as he walked away, but before I could say anything I watched as another individual who was living on the streets came along and took the food from on top of the can rather than having to dig through a disease-infested dumpster.

A recent trip to San Diego showed me another side of charitable giving as many of the restaurants would round your bill up to the nearest dollar.

The difference in the actual bill and what you paid went to nearby neighborhood kitchens to help them feed the needy.

Charity doesn't always have to be about the homeless. Last week I had to opportunity to purchase the best lemonade and cupcake you could ever hope to taste.

I bought it from a little friend of mine named Sam. Sam had set up a lemonade stand where he and his mom sat for four hours on both Friday and Saturday in the blazing heat. Sam wanted to raise money for a worthy cause - to help children who were suffering from cancer.

Over two scorching afternoons Sam managed to raise just over $1,000.

They say charity begins at home. That is certainly the case at Sam's house where his parents both taught and learned a valuable lesson.

Sam's parents listened to his little heart and instructed him to be a cheerful giver. He truly touched my heart when he said he also wanted to add all of the money he had in his piggy bank.

You may think that at 6 years old Sam doesn't know the value of a dollar to be willing to part with it so quickly. I think Sam knows the value in helping an individual in need better than most. And that knowledge is worth every penny.

When I grow up I want to be just like Sam.