National Day of Service - Jan. 19, 2009

It’s a week before Martin Luther King Day and our National Day of Service. What’s your personal commitment to yourself, your country and the new Obama-Biden Administration?

We’ll need everyone’s expertise to get our economy out of the deep black hole of our Wall Street wasteland and corporate greed coupled with misplaced personal fiscal priorities. Every little bit helps and you can make a big difference.

Last night I got my weekly fix of Consuelo Mack Wealthtrack on PBS and I just finished watching Christine Romans and Ali Velshi’s I.O.U.S.A., a CNN special that takes a revealing look at the American debt—now standing at more than $9 trillion; check out the bulletpoints at www.cnn.com.

In both segments, pundits made dire predictions for the next 6-12 months, including retail bankruptcies (Circuit City and Goody’s are slated to go under this week). One commentary hit home: the best thing you can do in “austere” times is get your own financial house in order. Good advice!

If you don’t have money to pay your bills, then what does it matter anyway? Start with small steps, reap rewards and keep going. The segments mentioned Chinese families, who on the average, save more than 30% of their annual earnings.
Americans save about 1% and we know the rule of thumb is we have in the past spent more than we earn. But, times are tight and times are changing.

For my part, I’ll use MLK day to refine a scholarship concept and use use some of my hard-earned savings to fund it.

I was partially inspired to get my project moving by Leon McLaughlin, a Seattle shoe shine entrepreneur, theatre usher and real estate mogul. Featured on the NBC Nightly News Jan. 9, his “Making a Difference” segment shared news of his efforts with World Vision to bring fresh water to destitute Bolivians.

One man can make a difference in the lives of villagers. We take fresh water, electricity and education for granted.

I was fortunate to have parents who paid cold, hard-earned cash for my college education. In turn, my husband and I paid to educate our son, without loans. We basically debt free and have for years; we can each thank our parents—children of the Depression—for our thrifty, conservative spending habits.

While I’m not a global philanthropist like McLaughlin or Bill and Melinda Gates (yet), I can do my part to help someone in need. My modest disposable income could be help a young person get through the semester or complete their degree.

Why not? The investment in a live human being is more these days than the rate of return I’ll get at the bank.

My “Millynneum Take” on the old adage is “each one, reach one.”

Do your part. Do something to celebrate this historic time in history. Soon, you’ll realize you’re more wealthy than you know. Money is a wonderful thing, but don’t forget you can also contribute by offering talent and time as a volunteer.

Fix what you see needs fixing. Get the job done.

Contribute via solutions and make it a reflective and action-oriented MLK National Service Day.