Do Your Giving While You Are Living: Inspirational Lessons on What You Can Do Today to Make a Difference Tomorrow

Perhaps Mother Teresa said it best: "We cannot do great things. We can only do ordinary things with great love." Edie Fraser and Robyn Spizman have produced a vivid testimony of people and organizations who are devoted to loving service through "ordinary" acts. Yet the ordinary becomes much more in these pages. In Spizman's words: "When we inspire goodness we create greatness." Anyone who picks up this book will never again say: "What can I do?" Every community is brimming with challenges, and as Frances Hesselbein has observed: much as the clergy, we are all called.

We live in the most challenging time in history. This is also the greatest opportunity in modern times. In our universal suffering we are all now related. As we look towards the future we can create a world of compassion and generosity. Edie and Robin have shown us the way. Do Your Giving While Your Living is a blueprint for giving. This astounding book is a guide for finding the solutions to the many local and global issues we face. Each chapter of Do Your Giving While Your Living provides an example of an organization or individual who is making a difference. I am honored and humbled to be featured in this book as the founder of Dreams for Kids. While reading of so many who have done so much, I am filled with hope. Please, commit to reading one chapter per week of this timely and important book. Apply the suggestions at the end of the chapter. Join this movement of giving - and together we will change the world!

Want to read inspirational stories on how to live a life that matters? Buy a copy of this book for you, your friends and employees. One way to counteract troubled times is to focus on all that's right with the world -- and one way to do that is to read about these individuals and organizations who are committed to serving those less fortunate. As author Maurice Sendak says, "There must be more to life than having everything." The dozens of contributors to this book -- including top executives from AARP, Make-A-Wish Foundation, American Red Cross and Dreams for Kids -- prove that. You'll be moved to tears -- and moved to action -- after reading about these extraordinary people who are, as contributor Casey Golden says, "making a difference, one small act at a time." Most importantly, you'll be motivated to figure out how YOU can give while you live so that everyone benefits, including you.

Perfect book for this season of giving: Do Your Living While You Are Living" will motivate your inner humanitarian through the personal, first-person accounts of sixty-six philanthropists. Short essays chronicle stories of selfless giving experienced by people ranging from Maxine Clark, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop to President of United Way of America Brian Gallagher to Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide. The convenient, user-friendly format of the book allows you to take a minute to read a single account or peruse essays from several chapters in a longer sitting. Each section concludes with a handy "Make a Difference Today" suggestion that provides ideas for ways you can start influencing the world for the better right away. Website addresses for all companies and organizations are included, providing a one-stop research tool for those looking for avenues through which to apply their desire to do good works. Do Your Giving While You Are Living is a handy guide that will be of use to the experienced philanthropist and new volunteers and donors alike. You won't be disappointed!

Beautifully written and sincere. This book provides real stories from successful people from all walks of life (great mix of the famous and not so famous). It reinforces the wonder and personal satisfaction that can be attained when contributing and getting involved in something bigger than yourself. The title is apt and the content is relevant today and everyday. Highly recommended as the ideal gift.