Hi. Give me five minutes.
I spend a lot of time writing silly things on Twitter. I blame the same gene that led me to work in Television. I guess I enjoy a stage, whether it's a theater, a TV screen or 140 characters at a time on the Internet. (I'm sure there's some deep-rooted psychological reason for spending most of life desperately trying to entertain people, but that's another post...)
If you spend any time online, you become desensitized to people asking you for stuff. Everyone wants something, whether they're asking you to go see their show, give to their fundraising effort, "Like" them on Facebook (really?), ReTweet them, click their link and vote, give to their cause, insist you "tell your friends!" about some damn thing, sign their online petition, or a million other wants. Mix in the endless junk mail and solicitation phone calls that have become part of all of our lives, and it's exhausting, even when it's entirely valid.
It's not that we don't want to help, it's that we're incessantly bombarded. It's draining.
I don't want your money or your pledge. I don't want you to "Like" me on Facebook. I just want to tell you about a thing I did, and why.
A few years ago, I saw a news story about a kid who was desperately waiting for a bone marrow donor. Her parents were pleading with people to register, hoping for a match for their little girl. The father, with tears in his eyes, looked directly into the camera and said, "Please register. You might be able to save our daughter's life." Normally, I'd feel sorry for the family and then move on to Spongebob, but his words stuck with me. I imagined myself in his situation; a father unable to help his child, and my heart broke.
As horrible as "becoming a bone marrow donor" sounded, I did some research. Registering is simple. Your profile is kept in a database, and if you are ever a match with someone in need, you get the chance to actually save another person's life.
For me, that sealed it. I've been registered ever since.
I'm not asking you to commit or pledge or agree to anything. I'm just asking for you to consider it, maybe research it a little, and imagine the opportunity to be the reason why someone else gets to keep living.
Be The Match. http://www.bethematch.org
