"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy."

— Meryl Streep

I've never seen the economy turn so sour so fast and have so broad an impact on almost everybody I know.

My family and I are OK so far, but like everybody else, there's a lot to worry about. The collapse of financial markets has left our nest egg down by nearly a third, whatever asset is left in our house is about as liquid as a block of ice and there's frightening turmoil in the newspaper and airline industries that support our household.

So I was seriously conflicted as I filled out my 2009 Aloha United Way pledge card.

I've always believed that charitable giving should sting a bit to be meaningful, and I usually try to contribute a little more than I think I can afford.

But this time, every instinct I had cried out, "Pull back, pull back, pull back." Save it for a rainy day. Let charity begin at home this year.

When I thought about it, though, I realized it was exactly the sting I look for — maybe sharper than usual, but that's the kind of year it's been. I took a deep breath and filled out the donor card for the same amount I gave last year when I was feeling flush.

These are the kind of tough times for everybody when help is needed most, and it's important to chip in if we're able.

It's broken my heart in recent weeks to read about programs on the front lines of helping the needy during the holidays coming up short this year — Toys For Tots, Lanakila Meals on Wheels, the Hawai'i Foodbank, The Advertiser's Christmas Fund.

It's not that people are stingy; they just don't have the money to contribute with all the job layoffs, tight paychecks and stock market losses. It's inspirational how many are helping with sweat equity when they don't have the cash.

I was originally planning to designate part of my AUW contribution to the agencies suffering holiday hurt like Toys For Tots, Meals on Wheels and the Foodbank.

But I decided that AUW is going to need its money for core programs more than ever this year and upped the sting by making separate donations to the other agencies.

It was worth it when I heard my 12-year-old grandson, Corwin, made a personal mission of the Toys For Tots shopping and chose each gift as carefully as if he would be the recipient. He and his 5-year-old sister, Sloane, donated a $30 toy store gift card they got from an uncle to the cause.

Several people I know — some with substantial means, others without — have taken up the 29-day Giving Challenge circulating on the Internet (www.29gifts .org), based on a custom in Africa where they know scarcity like we've never dreamed of.

The idea is to give something of yourself to others for 29 straight days — mostly little things like dropping a few bucks in the Salvation Army Kettle, giving a couple of cans of soup to the Foodbank or helping a neighbor clean up after the rain.

I was touched by the story of one of the founders, a fellow multiple sclerosis patient, who was in a funk about the disease and used her daily giving "to get outside my own struggle for a few seconds each day."

Who knows if I'll be able to help next year, but this year I can and I'm grateful for it. There's no better way to serve yourself than to serve others first.


David Shapiro, a veteran Hawai'i journalist, can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net. His columns are archived at www.volcanicash.net. Read his daily blog, Volcanic Ash, at volcanicash.honadvblogs.com.

David Shapiro, a veteran Hawai'i journalist, can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net. His columns are archived at www.volcanicash.net. Read his daily blog at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.