Haiti Disaster Relief

1/14/10 $37, donated to Catholic Relief Services in response to the Haiti earthquake

As Joanna and I welcome a new life into the world (today? tomorrow? this weekend?) our minds turn to the many families who lost not only their homes and possessions but also loved ones in the horrific earthquake in Haiti earlier this week. We decided to make a downsizing gesture of support to one of the many organizations that are responding to the disaster.

The New York Times published a great list of such charities. I ask that you look it over and consider a contribution to an appropriate charity, yourself.

I chose Catholic Relief Services, mainly because Joanna and I are having the baby at a Catholic institution, Mercy Hospital in Portland. I've always been one to hedge my bets.

How can a $37 donation count as downsizing? The answer -- appropriately enough, as my mind is currently overwhelmed with notions of parenthood -- begins with a story about my mother.

My mother has a long history of presenting me with elaborate, one-of-a-kind, homemade birthday cards. I have a long history of keeping them.

Last January, for B-day #37, she presented me with a card that had $37 in five- and one-dollar bills attached to the front and thirty-seven items of trivia about the number "37" on the inside. Mom knows how to work a theme.

Despite my love for greenbacks, that card has stood, untouched on the corner of my desk ever since. It's precisely the sort of gift that I can never bring myself to spend, take apart, or recycle.

This morning, before heading out to Mercy, I carefully removed the bills from the front, made an online donation in that amount to the Catholic Relief Fund, and placed the card in a scrapbook storage box.

With that, I have reduced the clutter in my life and made a contribution to improve someone else's.

I encourage you to do the same. After all, aren't we all part of the same family?