Last night I had an opportunity to get to know a person of a quality that I have never before known. This woman, who must have been in her eighties, left me in awe and in deep thought. The world has many impressive volunteers who give of their time, talents, and resources for countless worthy causes. However, I’m not sure how many people there are in the world that would fall into the category of this woman who I sat with for several hours.
Last night, my wife and I volunteered to serve at a homeless shelter. This particular homeless shelter provided dinner, medical care, clothing, hair cuts, and showers to nearly 200 homeless in our area. The majority of the homeless had attended such shelters before and knew the flow to the evening. They knew when to sit at the tables, when to line up for the clothing, where to go for the medical care, when to quietly listen to the “message of hope” from that evening’s speaker, and when to set up a cot to sleep on. However, there were others who were there for the first time. It was our responsibility to sit with the unfortunate newcomers to help them get oriented and to give them the information about what resources they could access from the shelter. I met many people who had fallen on hard times. Some had mental challenges, some had physical ailments, and some had recently lost their jobs and had run out of options. Several seemed very bright and capable and I could sense their embarrassment for finding themselves in such a situation.
This eighty-year old volunteer who I found myself sitting next to was completely at ease. She knew and warmly embraced a number of the homeless. She whispered in their ears. I learned that she had spent the last 25 years providing nearly constant service to those in need. She was a regular at the homeless shelters. She is a nurse and volunteers on a regular basis to fly to Mexico with a team of medical doctors who provide free medical care for four days each month to long lines of people in need. Two weeks ago she was serving in an orphanage in Bolivia. She was leaving at 8 in the morning for another medical trip to Mexico. Medical service missions have taken her to India, Armenia, and many countries throughout the world. She spoke of the doctors and pilots who volunteer their services and resources. This woman seemed happy to give detailed answers to our questions. I couldn’t help but think that she probably knew that part of her role was to inspire others to join the cause. However, there was nothing pretentious about her answers. It became crystal clear that this woman devoted her life to this type of service solely for the purpose of making a positive difference in the lives of those who suffer. Did I mention this woman must have been in her eighties?
Among the questions that I had for this woman were questions about the funding for the shelters and the medical missions. I learned enough to know that there is need far greater than the level of current funding. Money truly is power. It is not everything, because money without anything else is nothing.
Being in the wealth management business, by definition, means that we serve a fortunate clientele who control great wealth. That wealth can be used for many purposes, some of which are very noble. After my experiences last night, I don’t know that I have ever felt better about what I do for a living. Our team (and all other successful money managers) have honed a skill set that has earned us the opportunity to manage large amounts of wealth that have been entrusted to us and to seek to help this money grow to much larger sums of wealth, with the knowledge that much of this money may be put to some very noble uses over time. Money truly is power, and great wealth can potentially bring about great good.
Posted by JP Lee 
