Making a Difference

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Pictured above; Max Chafkin, The Author; Matt Mullenweg, Founder, Automattic; and Co-Founder, WordPress; Gebreselassie Berhe, REST Employee; Gebrehiwot, REST Employee; Nathan Hubbard, C.E.O, Ticketmaster; Tom Conrad, Executive Vice President, Pandora; Neil Hutchinson, Founder, Forward Internet Group; Errol Damelin, Founder and C.E.O, Wonga; Oliver Ripley, Founder and C.E.O, Black Ocean; Chandra Jessee, Activist, The InMaat Foundation; Chris Sacca, Founder, Lowercase Capital; Tony Hawk, Skateboarder, Tony Hawk Foundation; Divyank Turakhia, Founder, Media.net; Marissa Sackler, Founder, Beespace; Andy McLoughlin, Co-Founder, Huddle; Gelila Bekele, Model, Activist, and Filmmaker; Maggie Grace, Actor; Abdur Chowdhury, Co-Founder and C.E.O, Pushd; Melody McCloske, C.E.O, StyleSeat; Zaryn Dentzel, Founder, Tuenti; Jared Morgenstern, Entrepreneur and Designer; Damian Kümmelman, Founder and C.E.O, DueDil; David Ulevitch, Founder and C.E.O, OpenDNS; Shaan Puri, C.E.O, The Monkey Inferno; Lauren Miller, Executive Producer; charity: water; Michael Acton Smith, Founder, Mind Candy; Ed Baker, Facebook Executive; Tim Ferriss, Author, “The 4-Hour Workweek”; Paddy Cosgrave, Founder, F.ounders; Dario Muriel, Investor; Jessica Stroup, Actor; Ethan Beard, Entrepreneur; Jimmy Furland, Investor; Court Coursey, Managing Partner, TomorrowVentures; Shakil Khan, Head of Special Projects, Spotify; Troy Carter, Founder, Atom Factory; Sophia Bush, Actor and Activist; Scott Harrison, Founder and C.E.O, charity: water; Erik Lammerding, Co-Founder, N3TWORK; Getachew Kalayu, REST Employee; Brooke Hammerling, Founder, Brew Media Relations; Michael Birch, Founder, The Monkey Inferno and The Battery; and Adam Jackson, Co-Founder and C.E.O, Doctor on Demand.

Since the beginning of my career, I have been involved in charity work: United Jewish Appeal, The Anti-Defamation League, Cabrini Catholic Charities, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Temple of Understanding, Cooley’s Anemia, Juvenile Diabetes, The Rett Syndrome Foundation, Human Rights Watch, Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope and FAITH: The Fashion Accessories Industry Together for Health, of which we were a founding member.

In the last few years, our so called “good work” has tapered off a bit for no particular reason. There is really no excuse for any privileged American not to be involved in some worthwhile cause. Eliot and I have experienced many rewarding moments just from the number of things we have done. Not only did we contribute to the needs of others, but we made great friends and experienced some of the best times along the way.

Strange that we haven’t been involved in many tech charities. I made myself a promise earlier this year that we would.

Coincidentally, the other day, I read a New York Times article about how some of the most successful entrepreneurs from the Internet donate their money as well as their time. The story was quite fascinating because it showed how people who took business risks, are some of the first to step up for good causes.

I don’t know too many people who are willing to travel to Third World countries for the betterment of mankind. Charity: water is one of those tech charities I want to join. Ex-New York nightclub owner, Scott Harrison, founded the organization and somehow had the talent to lure Silicon Valley influencers. That is pretty good considering actor Matt Damon and his business partner Gary White, created Water.org for the same heroic reasons, bringing safe drinking water to under-privileged nations. Harrison’s Charity: water is way in the lead. It probably has something to do with leadership and personalities.

I also plan to get involved with Mike Rowe from the TV Show “Dirty Jobs” and his foundation called Profoundly Disconnected. Mike oversees award scholarships for young men and women who have illustrated both an interest and an aptitude around mastering a specific trade. With so many youngsters out of work, this seems like a good time to help push the agenda.

If you have a favorite charity tell me about it. Good work is contagious

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