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As regular readers of this blog know, every so often I drop the economic and market coverage and write about something different, usually about gratitude and how important it is. Now seems like a good time to do just that, as I am out of the office speaking this week, and nothing is actively detonating (for the moment!). I also have something specific I’d like to talk about. This gratitude post will be a bit different, as we will focus on active gratitude: giving back.
Commonwealth gives back
Commonwealth’s National Conference starts next week. As always, we are putting on a giving-back event to help the local community. Also as always, this event is oversubscribed. Give-back events are always the first thing on the agenda to fill up, which is a true tribute to the Commonwealth community.
This year, we are also doing something relatively new, and it is something that everyone attending can contribute to. Veronica Bloom, wife of Commonwealth CEO Wayne Bloom and Commonwealth’s First Lady, has been running a book club at many of our conferences, known as COMMreads. Last year, she also started a give-back program in conjunction with COMMreads. The following is part of the communication that she sent to book club participants:
Continuing Commonwealth’s commitment to giving back, COMMreads: Commonwealth’s Guest Book Club, is partnering with Conscious Alliance to spread the joy of books and reading to children. Last year, COMMreads organized a book drive for the first time, and it was a great success, collecting more than 150 books for young readers in Austin, Texas. If you’d like to participate this year, simply pack a new copy of a favorite children’s or young adult book into your suitcase and bring it to the Book Club Luncheon. The Commonwealth Conferences and Events team and Conscious Alliance will help distribute your donations to young readers who may have limited access to books.
My wife, Nora, and I are buying a bunch of books for me to take down to the conference. She is making her purchases at a local bookstore, in conjunction with a literacy program at my son’s school, so everyone wins: the local store, the school, and especially the kids in Colorado. When we were talking about it the other night, we realized that many other conference attendees might want to do the same thing. So for those Commonwealth advisors who are attending this year’s National Conference, here is your chance. Bring new children’s or young adult books to the conference, and Commonwealth will do the rest. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it will have a real impact on the lives of children. Please consider it.
A core purpose
For my own gratitudes, I remain incredibly blessed to be a part of a company and a community that are so focused on giving back and doing the right thing. Part of our core purpose at Commonwealth is making a positive difference in the world, and this event is just one more example of that.
For the Commonwealth folks, I look forward to seeing you all next week. For the non-Commonwealth folks, I am sure there are local organizations that could use books as well. Conscious Alliance, named above, is one example, but I am sure there are others in your area. Any way you want to do it, one of the purest forms of gratitude is giving back. And I am proud that Commonwealth is a leader in that area, like in so many others.
