Streetwise: The call for help is never ending
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It is that time of the year again, the time for holiday parties, gift giving and a good time to be had by all ... well, maybe not all. There are many for whom the economic downturn has wrenched away much, if not all, of the holiday spirit.
Many of you know what is coming next, so sit back with another glass of eggnog and think of it as a refresher course. For new readers, this is the one time of the year when I stray a bit from my normal investment fare in order to show you how to achieve some guaranteed exceptional returns.
It all begins with the concept of compounding; a force that Albert Einstein said was the most powerful force in the universe. Let me give you an example.
We begin back in 1947, in Los Angeles. Diane Hendricks has created a handmade Raggedy Ann doll that she wants to donate to charity. She asks her husband Bill to give the doll to any organization in the area that would forward it on to a needy child. Unfortunately, Bill was unable to find such an organization.
In relating this predicament to his wife, Diane's suggestion was that maybe Bill should start one. As luck would have it, Bill was also Major Bill Hendricks, a Marine Reservist. He and his fellow reservists proceeded to collect and distribute 5,000 toys to needy children.
Their campaign was so successful that the Marine Corps officially adopted Toys for Tots and expanded it into a nationwide effort. Their mission is the same today as it was back then, to bring holiday joy to America's needy children.
Toys for Tots received an added boost because in civilian life Major Hendricks was also the publicity director for Warner Brothers. Therefore, in addition to drafting various celebrities to help publicize the program, he was able to persuade Walt Disney to design the Toys for Tots logo. That logo is still in use today. Disney also designed the first poster used to promote what had become a nationwide program.
The investment of one Raggedy Ann doll, in the life of one child 62 years ago, is today the Toys for Tots Foundation, a non-profit organization that has collected and distributed more than 370 million toys to 173 million needy children. This charitable endeavor has made the Marines an unchallenged leader in looking after needy children during the holiday season. Now do you see what compounding can do?
First Published December 10, 2010 7:08 pm
