T J Mathew , Trustee, The SEED
Late seventies San Francisco South Bay was still a farmland, popularly known as the Orchard. Apples and pears, oranges and lemons, cherries and apricots, tomatoes and zucchinis. And detached homes. That’s when we bought our first home. For $168,000! Soon after, ‘the orchard’ started reinventing itself as “The Silicone Valey”. By the time we were ready to upgrade our house, the $168,000 fetched us $460,000! Along with the purchase of our second house for $610,000, my wife Sally donated $73,000 to her alma mater against my wishes to buy a better house for $710,000.
That’s how I learned the ‘duty’ of giving. That any ‘windfall’ is a divine gift and every gift has a duty to share with not-so-lucky brethren. That sharing has a beauty too, a sense of fulfilment. At 92, my bank account is empty, but my life is full and happy and content.