GIVING IN OUR OWN BACKYARDS

I’d like to make a pitch for helping to alleviate the need in communities around us, especially lately.

I was told by Sheryl WuDunn, author with husband and New York Times columnist Nick Kristof of the bestselling “Half the Sky,” that the pair’s mission for investing in women and girls is focused abroad because: “There is an order of magnitude and brutality in the developing world that really you don’t see here.”

And, said WuDunn, “as with any philanthropic endeavor, your money goes farther when it’s spent wisely abroad.”

She’s certainly seen that first-hand in Asia while I have not. However.

When I look around in the US, I’m seeing an order of magnitude here that’s increasingly disturbing: joblessness, foreclosures, hunger, lack of hope and comfort.

With all the money going out to the needy around the world, I’d like to see some more of it focused at home. My wish for the new year.

Call me a homebody.

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