If I Had a Million Dollars

I have had that Barenaked Ladies tune stuck in my head all week thanks to Casey's post. It inspired me to write another blog post about what would you do if you did receive $1,000,000.00 dollars. Would you go out and buy yourself a new wardrobe? Would you buy a house? Would you do some globetrotting?

Have that image in your head, good. NOW imagine all the possibilities you could do if you donated all or even a portion of that money.

We have already learned what $150 dollars does for Boys & Girls Club of Boston, but what about other monetary amounts? The average amount of rent for a 1 bedroom in Boston is $1,400. What if you were to donate that amount to help house kids with cancer and their families? That's less than 1% of the $1 millon you have [theoretically] just received.

The average cost of school supplies for children in the beginning of the school year is $55 -$76 (depending on the age of the child). By those numbers you could buy 125 children school supplies for the entire year for less than $10,000! Think about what a difference that would make for children who are emotionally and behaviorally challenged.

Oprah is challenging people to do relatively the same thing, asking you what would you do if you if you were given $100,000 dollars and had to give it all away.

If you were to give all your newly received money away that would be AMAZING. But even if you were to give away a portion of it, you would still be doing copiousness amounts of good for the community around you. It's always good to share what you have received with those that are less fortunate.

I haven't ever come into a million dollars (but still crossing my fingers), but I have found various dollar bills on the ground when I am around town. I usually give it to a homeless person, or donate it to a cause when I see a donation jar.

I am not trying to sound altruistic, but just trying to prove that it doesn't always take huge donations to make a big difference in the community around you.

So I ask: If you just received $1 Million dollars,

WWYD? (What Would You Donate)?

Photo courtesy of loc.gov