I had lunch today with a friend who works at my company and also went to Cal. We are on the same page when it comes to charitable donations. The guy has consistently given ever since he started working. We launched into a conversation at how appalling it was to hear from our alma maters that we rank the highest in terms of donations among our classmates. I guarantee you, we are not the highest paid.
To me (or to him), it’s not about how much you give, but that you give at all. He’s currently on the committee for his upcoming 10 year reunion and I spearheaded my business school’s five year reunion. The participation rate for my MBA class was so disappointing that we did not even go out with a message to inform everyone whether or not we hit our goal–obviously we did not. How embarrassing! And I know my classmates make very good money.
We cannot do this alone.
Cal announced that it was trimming its athletic budget yesterday by cutting baseball, gymnastics, lacrosse, and demoting rugby. People took to their Twitter accounts, “Unbelievable!” “Check this out. So sad.” Did any of those people even think twice when it came to donating or fundraising?
Successful sports alums expressed their disappointment.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher, Brandon Morrow, said, “I think it’s awful. I think it’s embarrassing.” How much are you making and did you care about the sports program before you heard of its demise?
Olympian Natalie Coughlin said, “Extremely disappointed to hear about UC Berkeley having to cut five sports teams due to budget problems…” Hello, Natalie! Have you been racking up so many medals that you didn’t realize California is in financial turmoil and the UC system is in the toilet? Use your celebrity status to fundraise.
I cannot stand these whiners who make these grandiose statements but don’t think of solutions. Seriously, people. Instead of tweeting about your disappointment, why don’t you actually do something about it.
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