Overall this has been an amazing experience. I want to especially thank Tom Pender for his dedication to the project and Oliver Bell from Operation Hope. This is the one year anniversary of the project. Collectively we have accomplished the following:
4 trips
17 work days
50 volunteers (from 8 states)
450 client interactions
$500,000 of volunteer time
(Extracted from Tom Pender)
It became more evident that these businesses need our help and we need to reach out to them as a profession. Our knowledge should not be reserved for our highest paying clients. I believe that we represent a profession and we have a duty to the public. We must be aware that there is an opportunity to use our skills in a volunteer setting. Tom’s mission was to use his professional skills to help an economy in need. While I do think that New Orleans is an economy in need, I also believe that we may be able to identify an area in greater need as this city in many respects has recovered or at a minimum is on track. There is a place for financial literacy in our home, Boston, and now it is evident there is a need for financial literacy across the nation. The greed on Wall Street, the mortgage lending crisis, and the now suffering automobile industry all point to that need. What is ever so clear is that it is time to get back to the basics. Start reinventing the wheel. Start saving. Come up with new ideas that add value. Stop making cars, that don’t do the environment or consumers any good. Stop living beyond our means. Stop the selfishness and gambling. Reinvent yourself, much like the city of New Orleans, to create opportunity and change.
