Giving

One of the unique features of our area is the very sharp delineation between prosperity and poverty. Our three little contiguous communities (Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga) together comprise a tranquil valley of moderate affluence, with Orinda on the high side, Moraga on the low (relatively speaking) and Lafayette somewhere in between. Just on the other side of the hills that shelter Moraga and Orinda lies Oakland, one of the most notoriously poor and crime-ridden metropolitan areas in the country. In truth, there are many nice areas of Oakland, but the majority of the city is governed by gangs and struggles to rise above the material and spiritual poverty that the criminality of the gang culture cultivates.

Those who live in the so-called Lamorinda area are very self-aware of the stark disparity in living conditions between the two areas that are only separated by a one mile long tunnel. There are many readily available opportunities for people of greater means and available time on the east side of the hill to serve those on the west side of the hill. There are rescue missions, soup kitchens and the like which many members of our community support faithfully with their hands and feet as well as their dollars.

Thankfully, the lesson to reach out to others evidently is being taught to the children of our community. A player and former player in the baseball league Michael plays in recently held a donation drive to collect used baseball equipment to give to inner city baseball organizations on the other side of the hill. These two kids collected $30,000 worth of bats, balls, gloves, shoes and other equipment, which has now been distributed to nearby inner city areas.

Direct, meaningful involvement in the lives of your neighbors is how society is best lived and its prospects raised. The plight of the desperately poor kids in Haiti after the earthquake, especially the orphans, affected Michael deeply. Of his own volition, out of his personal empathy for kids his age, he chose to give his old baseball glove to a group of people from church who coordinated a donation effort for Haitian orphans. By the same token, if these local donations not only get a bunch more kids out in the sunshine playing a game instead of waiting for the gangs to swallow them up, but also show some materially blessed kids how to live in kindness and kinship with their peers, there will be hope yet for the generation to come.