A Whole Lotto Karma

Story by Max Linsky, first published March 2010 on Take Part.

Reneé Green was sitting on the couch last Wednesday night when a story came on the news about the dire situation in Haiti. As she watched the images of struggling Haitians sweep across her flatscreen, Green looked around her condo in suburban Seattle at all she takes for granted. The brick fireplace in the corner. The washing machine. The faucet in the kitchen that pours clean water at the turn of a knob. The gulf was too much to ignore. So Reneé Green decided to do something that many of us will have the opportunity to do in the coming weeks: she donated her entire $700 tax refund check to the Haiti relief effort.

"Granted, $700 isn't much," she told TakePart. "But it was a lot for me. It's worth it to make someone's life simpler with a bar of soap or a roll of toilet paper."

Green's story could stop there and it would still be worth telling. The need in Haiti can't be overstated—the government is set to announce later this month that it needs $11.5 billion to rebuild. That's a massive amount, almost incomprehensible, and to reach it people across the globe will have to follow Green's lead and sacrifice cash where they can. Anyone who does will get the intangible benefit brought by helping others.

As for Green, well, her reward is a little more concrete.

To read the full story visit our friends at Take Part.

Photo courtesy of the Washington State Lottery.