Tis’ the Season of Giving~
While some billionaires really put themselves out there and give back to the people, communities and world that made them so, you don’t have to be a billionaire to give back and change someone’s life. Giving back is sometimes a smile, an ear, a conversation. Other times its lending a helping hand or making a donation, something many or most of us can do in proportion to our situation.
I’m not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, by most assessment's, lower middle class. That said, I’ve always tried to live within my means, which has allowed for a very nice life. For several decades I’ve lived by one simple motto, “do what you can do, when you can do it”, because now is what we have and tomorrow is not promised or guaranteed.
I grew up in an era of the American melting pot or as former president Jimmy Carter recoined it as “a beautiful mosaic”, where as the ocean is made of drops. The top world fundraisers of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were primarily large-scale, celebrity-driven benefit concerts and telethons that raised significant funds and global awareness for humanitarian crises. I watched intently and participated as able. I still have the “We Are The World” album on vinyl. We are the world and We collectively are the change, for better or worse, you decide.
1970s
The Concert for Bangladesh (1971): Organized by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, this event at Madison Square Garden in New York City is considered the first modern large-scale benefit concert. It raised significant funds for refugees from the former East Pakistan and set the precedent for future music-based fundraising efforts.
The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (annual): This annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association was a major fundraising staple throughout the US during the 1970s (and for decades after), consistently raising millions of dollars each year.
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1976): This series of benefit shows for Amnesty International began in 1976 and gained more musical traction toward the end of the decade, featuring top comedic and musical talent to raise funds and awareness for human rights.
1980s
The 1980s were a peak time for massive, globally broadcast charity events, largely in response to the Ethiopian famine.
Band Aid and the single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (1984): Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, this charity single featured top British and Irish pop artists and raised millions for Ethiopian famine relief, inspiring later major events.
USA for Africa and the single "We Are the World" (1985): Following the success of Band Aid, Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson wrote this song, which was recorded by an assembly of music superstars. The single, along with merchandise sales, raised over $50 million for the cause.
Live Aid (1985): This dual-venue "global jukebox" concert, held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, was the biggest charity event of the decade. Broadcast to an estimated 1.9 billion people across 150 nations, it raised over $100 million (with reports of up to $245 million) in famine relief for Africa.
Farm Aid (1985): Inspired by a comment from Bob Dylan at Live Aid, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young organized this annual concert series to raise funds for American family farmers, raising $7 million in its first year.
Comic Relief / Red Nose Day (established 1986): This British charity, founded by Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry, launched its highly successful biennial telethon event, Red Nose Day, which has since raised over a billion pounds for various causes both globally and in the UK.
1990s
While large benefit concerts continued, the focus shifted to different causes and ongoing annual events remained significant.
Tibetan Freedom Concerts (began 1996): Organized by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch and activist Erin Potts, the inaugural two-day concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park was one of the biggest benefit concerts of the 90s, raising both awareness and funds for the plight of Tibetan exiles from China.
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon (annual): Continued to be a major annual fundraising event, accumulating a cumulative total of billions of dollars over its decades-long run.
In most, if not all of these, we as individuals get to participate and be part of the solution and healing. These days there’s so much accumulated wealth that some of celebrity heavy weights give in the millions and billions, which is awesome. But, that still leaves us regular folk to do what we can to be the change we want to see in the world. That’s a huge responsibility and calling.
A couple years ago I painted a piece entitled “All Are Welcome~ UUSG” and sent an image of it to the local Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva of which I’ve been part of off and on over the past 30 years. It was utilized in one of the sermons earlier this year and at that point I thought I may create prints of it. As 2025 progressed and I witnessed the bulldozer/wrecking ball approach of the current administration I realized millions of Americans would be devasted by these haphazard and irresponsible actions. With that I decided to create a limited edition print of the piece and donate it to the UUSG as a donation piece to raise funds for the social justice teams various missions, which includes feeding & sheltering those most down on their luck. Drops make up the ocean and has a ripple effect.
With this announcement~
Painting Prints benefiting UUSG's Beyond Our Walls causes!
Local artist and friend of UUSG, Richard Sperry, has generously donated 50 signed limited edition prints of his painting "UUSG - All Are Welcome." The prints are available in the Common Room for $35, with all proceeds supporting our Beyond Our Walls causes. Checks can be made out to UUSG with "Painting" in the memo line. Questions? Please contact Christine at office@uusg.org.
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Then in the Common Room I will also have the Bio statements as well. Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks so much!
Those causes are~
The "Beyond Our Walls" initiative at USG (Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva) supports a variety of local charitable organizations. The specific causes and organizations that receive donations include:
Aurora Pride Parade
Center for Information for Immigrants
Habitat for Humanity
Humanitarian Service Project
Lazarus House
Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans
Northern Illinois Food Bank
Trinity Soup Kitchen
Since July 2024, the program features all supported organizations weekly, rather than focusing on one specific cause per month.
“Be the change, you want to see in the world” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Thanks Richard
ALL ARE WELCOME-UUSG