Let's avert our eyes from the stock market today so that we might consider instead the heartwarming saga of Marc Gold, a childhood friend of mine whose good works have attracted the attention, most recently, of the San Francisco Chronicle and radio station WBEZ in Chicago. Marc is the founder of the 100 Friends Project, and his goal is to give away as much money as possible to the needy in Asia. Since the inception of '100 Friends' more than a decade ago, Marc has practiced philanthropy at its simplest, raising relatively small sums from a growing list of donors, then distributing the money on a case-by-case basis to needy clients in the villages of Nepal and Sir Lanka, and in the urban slums of India, Thailand and Afghanistan, among other countries. It was in the Himalayas where Marc had the epiphany that put him on his present course. He had met a woman there, Tsering Gyatso, who suffered from a chronic ear infection so severe that it could have been fatal. For less than the price of a cup of coffee at Starbuck's, he bought her antibiotics that literally changed her life. Another $30 provided her with a hearing aid, allowing Tsering to return to work. 'I thought, wow, this philanthropy stuff is great!' says Marc. 'She felt good again, and I felt really good too.' My lifelong friendship with Marc stretches back to the 1950s, when we were campers together at Camp by the Sea in Atlantic City. I am proud to call him my friend, and I would do anything I can to support his charitable efforts. If you would like more information about the 100 Friends Project, or if you simply want to make a donation, please click here to be taken to his Web site.
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