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December 9, 2010

Giving Of Alms


MATTHEW 6:2-4

"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Sometime around 1913, a possibly illegal immigrant, a Romanian Jew, sought a new beginning in America. He changed his name and started a completely new life using a bogus birth certificate. By time of the Great Depression, he had managed to improve his lot in life and wanted to express his gratitude for what he had. He decided to do what he could for those in desperate need in late 1933. Using a nom de guerre, B. VirDot, he posted a letter in a Canton, OH, newspaper asking people who needed money for Christmas to send him a letter explaining their plight. The response was enormous. Virdot sent $5 to 150 families in the Canton area. Not only did B.Virdot remained anonymous, he promised that those who requested assistance would also remain unknown to the world.

Virdot's charitable leanings contributed a total of $750. What was this money in today's market place? In 1933 the average annual income was only $1,500. You could buy eggs one at a time for a nickel. You could purchase a house while earning only $25 a week. The way I look at it, B. Virdot gave away probably 40-50% of his total annual income at the time.

In 2009 the median income in America was $49,777. Click on the following graphic to get a better picture of the differences in income between then and now.


Almost eighty years later the veil of anonymity was removed. For more of that story go to I Own The World or to the article written by the anonymous donor's grandson.

What I find fascinating is that this story will touch the hearts of more Americans than all the billions of dollars donated by major corporations to major charitable organizations. I could give a farthing for what the United Way or the International Red Cross receives in donations to support their bloated bureaucracies and greedy administrators. So many not-for-profits are nothing more than scams to push political agendas at the expense of others. And they are no more active than at this time of year.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Very cool story. I love the giving I see go on around me. Such a humble reminder I can always do more!

sig94 said...

ramsam - same here. Today a person is considered needy if they only have a 5 yr old used car in the driveway of their welfare assisted apartment that has only one flat screen TV set (with full service cable of course). Those people in the Great Depression had nothing. I wish I had recorded the stories of my parents and in-laws as they lived though the 1930's and WWII.

christian soldier said...

Thank you for this-
C-CS

Anonymous said...

These are the kind of stories I ove.

Anonymous said...

love

Kid said...

I haven't checked him out yet but I bet he/she was a conservative.

Great story.

banned said...

We have http://www.fakecharities.org/

in England but the site seems to be down for some reason. It listed hundreds of the fake charities that you mention. ie they take the governments money and use it to promote the offical line while pretending to be independent. They are usually easy to spot since they include words like 'concern', 'Action!' or NOW in their titles.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. It is important to recall the honorable people, the quiet dignified heroes who, themselves, walked with heroes.

sig94 said...

Zio - I ove them too.

CS - you're more than welcome.

sig94 said...

banned - it is nice to know there are sites like that. Anyone known of something similar here?

sig94 said...

Nickie - and they never considered themselves heros. Nowadays the kids are cinsidered heros if they can wipe their arse with one hand and not take their own eyes out with the other. Everyone's a %$#& hero for just showing up.

Anonymous said...

I could not agree more.