by Nicholas Hamner
Investment Advisor Representative & Director of Marketing
[email protected]
No one got where they are today by their own work alone. In all the hullabaloo about self-made this and independent that, remember that the physical act described in “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps” is impossible. You may have gotten far in life, and that’s worthy of congratulations, but despite all your hard work nobody got where they are by themselves. We all get to where we’re going with help from others. And since we’ve all been helped by others, we all need to help others.
That in mind, we’re doing something different this year at Franklin Retirement Solutions. Something we’ve intended to do for years but were prohibited from doing until this year. We’re running a donation box for Toys For Tots in the office! And I’m telling you this because I’d like you all to donate!
Things to know:
- The box is in our lobby, you can drop toys off any time until mid-December.
- This isn’t a one-sided thing; everyone here in the office will be contributing. Personally, my family has been blessed and will be donating plenty.
- What will they take? Anything you can think of that is considered a toy. The sky’s the limit. Any toy you see you think a baby or kid under the age of 18 might like, in that $10 and up range, go for it. Just remember to include batteries if it’s electronic.
- What will they not take? Used toys—no matter the condition—are not OK. Toy weapons are not OK for obvious reasons. Stuffed/plush toys are not OK, for sanitary reasons. And no food, again for sanitary reasons. Not even an Easy-Bake Oven!
- What about books? Books are great, so long as they are new (not used) and are appropriate. Nothing spicy, vulgar/profane, or overly propagandic. As a parent regularly buying books for a pre-teen, my general rule is if you can find it at the Scholastic Book Fair, it’s probably OK.
- Can I wrap the gifts? Because people are jerks and some kids received empty boxes one year, that’s an emphatic no. New, unwrapped gifts only, please.
Of the 182 largest municipalities in the U.S., Philly rates 161 in terms of happiness and is the lowest-rated “big” city by a good margin. It’s easy to be unhappy here (Don’t believe me? Go read your friends’ Eagles posts from the end of September), which makes it hard to remember how blessed we really are. But it’s important to remember how good we all have it, and to give back more than we’ve been given.