[Warning: this post is a bit rambly. Sorry for whatever incoherence may arise]
As most of you saw on Facebook, I was at the Kennedy Center the other day at a tribute to President George H. W. Bush celebrating his role in championing volunteerism in the United States. Also in attendance were Presidents Carter, Clinton, and George W. Bush. Say what you want about any of them as far as their politics, but this was a totally non-partisan event. The closest thing that came to it was when a sportscaster for CBS came out to mention that the tribute would air on NBC next Monday.
Now, normally, I would never be able to go to an event like this. Heck, the lowest ticket price was 500 dollars. But I got to go for free because I received an award from the organizers back in 2003. The organization in question is the Points of Light Institute and the award was the Daily Point of Light. The Institute was founded in the spirit of President H. W. Bush's famous line of "a thousand points of light" when he was in office, and he gave out 1040 awards during his presidency. The award was stopped in 1993 then revived in 2002. I was the 2502th overall recipient, receiving an award mostly because I was the recipient of a different award, the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, for my work with Maryland blood donation. At least, that's how I assume they found me.
Anyway, because I was a former recipient, I got two free tickets to this event. It was a pretty moving evening for me. We talk a lot in Judaism about tikkun olam or fixing the world and how community service and volunteerism is a vital component of that. To spend an entire evening (a little over 2 hours) listening to stories and hearing celebrities and former Presidents talk about the importance of volunteerism struck a very significant chord in me. I like to think I do a lot of work within my community locally but I'm sure I could do more.
Another reason it was moving for me came about from reading over the list of recipients of the Daily Points of Light award. To date, there have been just about 4500 recipients. Around the time I received mine, a bunch of other people who won Prudential awards in my year received Daily Points of Light awards. A few names below mine was that of Gideon Sofer, who ended up winning the National award from Prudential (mine was state level only). Just before Shabbos last week, I discovered that Gideon had passed away in January. While I admit to being out of regular contact with him over the last 8 years, we'd catch up from time to time. He was a truly inspiring individual, and it was a shock to me to read about his death.
As I was sitting there in the Kennedy Center, listening to person after person espouse the idea of dedicating time to volunteer, I couldn't help but think that Gideon would have loved to be at this tribute. And then I thought about all the other people from my year in Prudential who deserved to be at this ceremony much more than me. My work was 8 years ago, and while significant, was very local. My fellow Prudential recipients raised money for schools, organized national programs, and, in one case, made multiple trips to Africa to fund education programs for girls and women. Did I truly have the right to be at this ceremony due to happenstance of geography? I don't have any issues of self-esteem when it comes to this. Honestly. I just wish more people could have come to the Kennedy Center and experienced the tribute firsthand. I wish Gideon were alive to see it.
In the 8 years since I got that Daily Point of Light award, it's not been something I've thought about (compared to Prudential, which I think about more often since I'm still in touch with people from there). But after attending this event, I was proud to call myself A Point Of Light. And a little ashamed that I wasn't entirely living up to the "expectations" of me as a recipient. I'd like to hope that I'd do more, but I know human nature in general and mine in particular. It's probably not going to dramatically change my behavior. But it might just push me a bit more in the right direction.
It's rare that I ask people to watch something on TV that isn't a sitcom or something, but I'll ask this of all of you. The tribute ceremony will be broadcast on NBC on Monday, the 28th from 8-9 Eastern time. Clearly, there will be quite a lot lost between the 2 hour performance and the 42 minute broadcast, but I think it will still be worthwhile. If you have the time (or a good DVR) please watch the tribute. I hope it will have as much of an impact on you as it did on me.
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