On December 6, 2011, residents of Colorado will be asked to participate in “Colorado Gives Day,” a day to “give where you live.” Those residents who choose to participate in this monumental day of reaching outside of oneself to help the less fortunate will be rewarded by having their gift increased by the Colorado Gives Day Foundation.  Why should this matter to you – why give? Well, here are a few reasons that I choose to give.

As a child, I can remember growing up in poverty in some of NYC’s toughest neighborhoods.  That experience caused me to fear poverty and recognize it as a life that I wanted to escape from.  As I grew into adulthood, I subconsciously hoarded material things because to me, having material possessions equated to not being poor.  It wasn’t until later in life that I realized that the person with the most material possessions can also be the person who is poorest in spirit – poor in the riches of kindness, friendship, and love.  I also realized that hoarding, or having a closed hand, denies an individual the opportunity to be able to receive.  I believe and have witnessed that it is only through the opening of the hands, or giving freely, that one can truly experience the opportunity of receiving all of the blessings that life has to offer.

Since I came to work at the CCA Foundation in 2005 as its Executive Director, I have had the privilege of working with the Foundation board in helping to create a culture of giving at Community College of Aurora.  Through the efforts of the 30-member volunteer board, and the many other donors who have come to support us over the years, the Foundation has raised millions of dollars that are used to assist the College in providing scholarship support to thousands of students who might not otherwise be able to attend college.  The programs that have been supported by the efforts of the Foundation board have allowed the College to build and maintain world-class programs that are, in many cases, superior to those found elsewhere.  And, most recently, the Foundation has committed to undertake a capital campaign with the College that will provide an academic environment at the Lowry Campus that our students so rightly deserve. At the end of the day, a strong, well-educated student body builds a robust, economically viable community.

So when you (and some of you as recipients of the Foundation’s fundraising efforts) are asked to give, the question you need to ask is whether or not you will allow your voice to be heard and help to expand the culture of giving at CCA by participating in Colorado Gives Day on December 6^th.  That’s a question that only you can answer, but I sincerely hope it will be in the affirmative.