What's Your Cause?

There are a million different causes just waiting for you to do great and support. Which one is yours? I invite you to share your cause in the comments. First, let me tell you about mine…

My cause is refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) shows that in 2012, there are more than 33 million people displaced around the world. In 2010, the United States took in 73,000 refugees. About 2,000 of them were resettled in my home state of Minnesota. Minnesota has a high proportion of refugees who have brought their culture here and made Minnesota much more interesting! I support refugees in every situation: whether they are displaced abroad or have been resettled in the US.

Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya photo: Internews Network

How I support my cause

I support my favorite cause in as many ways as I can. Hopefully some of these ideas inspire you.

I tweet about refugees every day. I’ve donated money to several organizations and support refugees (both locally and internationally). I volunteered my time at a local refugee resettlement agency. I taught English to newly arrived refugees. I became a Blue Key champion. And I’m always looking for new ways to support all the causes I care about.

Philanthropists and their causes

George Lucas: world-famous film director and producer. Founder of Edutopia and the George Lucas Educational Foundation

“It’s scary to think of our education system as little better than an assembly line with producing diplomas as its only goal. Once I had the means to effect change in this arena, it became my passion to do so – to promote active, life-long learning. I believe in the artisan school of learning, through apprenticeships and Aristotelian questions and discussion. This level of engagement dates back to the beginning of human life, but it’s still the best way of doing things.”

Ted Turner: media mogul whose 1 billion dollar donation started the UN Foundation

“These days, I’m putting my resources and energies toward tackling the worlds more important issues. The three problems that concern me the most are the threat of nuclear annihilation, climate change and the continuing growth of the world’s population. Sometimes these problems can seem overwhelming, and when they do, I remind myself of a conversation I had many years ago with Jacques Cousteau. I asked him if he ever got discouraged or worried that the problems he was working on were insurmountable. He looked at me and said, “Ted, it could be that these problems can’t be solved, but what can men of good conscience do but keep trying until the very end?” At that moment, his very words inspired me to want to do even more.”

Barron Hilton: business magnate, Chairman of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

“Today we concentrate on a few strategic initiatives: Safe water development, homelessness, children, substance abuse and Catholic sisters. Other major programs include blindness prevention, hotel and restaurant management education, multiple sclerosis, disaster relief and recovery, and Catholic schools.”

Bill Gates: founder of Microsoft and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“We have committed the vast majority of our assets to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help stop preventable deaths…and to tear down other barriers to health and education that prevent people from making the very most of their lives. Our animating principle is that all lives have equal value. Put another way, it means that we believe every child deserves the chance to grow up, to dream and do big things.”