Happy New Year, 2016.
My hopes for you are that you have four walls and a roof to call home. May you have clean water and healthy food to nourish you and stave off disease. I wish for you to have stable governments and societies, free of strife and violence and most of all, may you have friends and family to love you, care for you, and remind you that you are human, in the best way.
It is not enough to simply wish these most fundamental things for people. We must take action and there are a selection of charities whose focus is to deliver these services. Throughout the next year, if you would like to join me in helping others achieve these most basic but important goals, please consider the following charities for your giving:
Four Walls and A Roof: Habitat for Humanity.
Clean Water: Charity Water.
Services to children and families: The Children’s Aid Society.
Services to protect liberty: Institute for Justice.
Low Income Assistance (Utah): Crossroads Urban Center.
Animal Protection: The Humane Society.
The image above: This image is the retina from a ground squirrel in hibernation. Their retinas degenerate in hibernation and then regenerate when they come out of hibernation. How cool is that? How is it relevant? I like the concept that what is lost can be retrieved. Redemption and second chances are important and the concept of renewal, growing back what is lost is an apt analogy for going into the New Year.