The Power of the Gift

If you look up the definition of Gift on the internet you get something along the lines of:

But what really is a gift and what power does it hold?

The Merced area and its citizens have been the recipients of many gifts over the years. These gifts include the Virginia Smith Trust giving land to the UC system which enticed the UC Regents to choose Merced as the 10th UC campus and the David and Lucille Packard gift to UC Merced used to acquire the rest of the Virginia Smith Trust lands east of Merced in order preserve the rolling grasslands and the fairy shrimp :) and there are lots of other gifts.

But do these gifts have power?

Yes, they have the power to change the world we live in forever. Gifts can come in lots of different forms. From Corporate giants to the poorest of people. Gifts are often magical, both to the person giving and the person receiving. Some gifts have ulterior motives and some have strings attached, but they are still laden with magic. They can make someones day. They can help save the world. They can even get a President elected.

Where am I going with this Blog post? Gift giving isn't just something for the few to do. It is something for all of us to do. Give to local charities. Give to national charities. Give to non-profit organizations that interest you. Gifts aren't just money either. They can be time, talents, dedication, etc. Give the gift of life... blood. Gifts can be creative. MeetMerced.com gives webspace to local non-profit projects such as Save the Kiddieland Train! from the Kiwanis Club of Greater Merced and we are also giving out scholarships for young students that help to promote the Merced area by participating in this site. I personally give to Valley Children's Hospital, plus my business gives discounts to non-profit organizations.

Imagine if all 100.000 of us in the Merced area gave a one time donation of $10.00 to a non-profit organization dedicating to the Fine Arts in Merced. That would be $1,000,000 that they could use for the building of a new Fine Arts center, complete with Arts education, galleries, and studios for artists to work out of.

Now imagine all of us pledging to give $10.00 a year for the next 10 years. That would be $10,000,000. The non-profit could borrow money against those pledges and build one heck of a place for Fine Arts.

This is only one example of the power of gifts. There are many more. In my humble opinion, not that it matters much :) gifts are meant to be paid forward. So if I get a gift I make sure I give a gift or two to someone else. Not only do I feel really good about doing it, but then those two recipients should pay it forward and soon everybody will be giving and recieving gifts and the world will be a better place.

Merced has potential people, we just need more gifts!