Written and photographed by Tristan Lueck
As I sat out in the sweltering Savannah sun on Friday, I appeased myself with the thought that this was all for a good cause. The fluorescent poster that seemed to attract those few extra sunbeams, the balloons that wouldn’t stop hitting everyone in the face, and the agonizing stickiness that came from what seemed like an endless supply of popsicles—it was all for a good cause. A great cause, even.
St. Jude’s only expected us to raise $500, not a staggering amount. Something I thought would be relatively easy to achieve. But after five hours of continuously stopping and practically begging students for help, that meager $500 seemed like an unreachable goal.
When passing a homeless person begging for money on the street, we’ve been taught to ignore them and move on. They are seen as pariahs of society; we’re not supposed to help them. I’ve been told that they won’t use the money I give them for anything good, like food or shelter. Instead they’ll waste it on drugs or booze. So, why should I give into them?
But what about donating to kids with cancer, or to malaria victims in Africa who, if they’d only had a mosquito net, could’ve avoided the disease? It seems we won’t give any money for those things either.
We’ve been desensitized to the world around us. Some people even see those in need of help as “free-loaders,” and say that they’re only “living off the system.” Our society has become so focused on the individual that we’re forgetting the community. We’re forgetting that as individuals, we make up a larger family called mankind.
We’re so focused on our own lives that we forget to help others, and we forget that we should help others. This is something I saw a lot of on Friday, people passing by without a glance when a just a shake of the head or a “no” would have been enough for us. We weren’t asking for a fortune. They didn’t have to give money, just a message of love and strength to some kids that desperately need it. We just wanted some of their time, but it seemed they didn’t have any to give.
Not everyone was like this. Many gave what they could and others wrote some incredibly beautiful and inspirational things to these kids. We let those children know that people, strangers, were thinking of them. We were encouraging them to be strong. Everyone poured their heart into the things that they had written. People convinced others to come and leave a message. They walked around, proudly showing off their “I love St. Jude’s” stickers. But it wasn’t quite enough. Words are nice. Words drive our world through speeches and letters and conversations. Words literally define our existence. They help us describe and emote and love and live. But words won’t pay for research or adoptions or mosquito nets.
