The Way I See It
By Joseph C. Phillips

Sharing Blessings During the Holiday Season

I love this time of year.  Even in Los Angeles, there is a bit of chill in the air.  The sun hangs low in the sky, leaves are changing and football season is in full swing.  Even better, mid-November marks the beginning of the season of feasting.  Following Thanksgiving, there will be weeks of parties leading up to the celebration of Christmas, followed closely by the New Year’s festivities.  If like me you love to eat, there simply is no better time of the year.

But November is also the time of year when we begin to count our blessings and in counting, we realize we have been blessed in excess and so turn to our fellow man to share what we have been granted in abundance. More charitable giving is done during this time of year than at any other. Cynics among us would argue that this is merely an effort by some to beat the tax man out of his due. 

I do not share such cynicism. I have met too many people doing too many good things –people dedicated to the uplift of their fellow man.  I have met and worked with those that focus locally on their neighborhoods and others that reach across the seas in order to do their good works. Fisher House and Maternal Fetal Care International are two perfect examples.

Working locally is Fisher House, a public private partnership created in 1991 to provide temporary housing for the families of military personnel wounded in the service of their country.   Wounded soldiers often require specialized care only available at military instillations. Fisher House builds comfort homes near major military and veterans’ hospitals in major cities, enabling families to be near their loved ones while they are rehabilitated.  Through a program called Operation Hero Miles, which uses donated frequent flier miles, Fisher House has also provided 5000 emergency plane tickets. Since its inception, Fisher House has provided over 2 million days of lodging to military families, saving them $80 million.  More remarkable is that 97% of every dollar donated goes to the work of Fisher House.

Supporting the troops is more than something one says or a bumper sticker one places on the car.  Support is a verb, it requires action.

Reaching across the seas is Maternal Fetal Care International.

We in America often forget how fortunate we are.  Generally speaking, we have the finest medical facilities in the world, the best trained doctors and nurses as well as hospitals equipped with the latest technological advances.  Most people in the world do not enjoy such advantages and some people lack even the most rudimentary medical care.  Sure, they have midwives that have been bringing babies into the world for generations, but what happens if there is a complication?  Most often, both mother and baby die.  Even when educated about the importance of prenatal care, many poor women live many miles from the clinics that are available.  Mothers are forced to walk long distances to receive prenatal care. Once at the clinic, they will find medical staff hobbled by equipment that is out of date or in need of costly repair.

Los Angeles gynecologist Dr. Lisa Masterson founded MFCI in 2005 to help address these problems.  She is determined to help mothers and babies survive and enjoy healthy lives in the poorest regions of the world. Donations to MFCI help purchase fetal monitors, prenatal vitamins, delivery kits, surgical supplies, insecticide-treated bed nets and HIV/AIDS medications.  A few dollars can make the difference in the lives of mothers and babies halfway across the world.

Of course, some will continue to believe that the world is a selfish place peopled by beings only concerned with what they can get.  I beg to differ.  There is a wealth of heart in the American people – heart that is humbled by reverence for the creator and swelled by love for mankind.

Send me your ways of seeing it at Josephcp@netlistings.com