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Seeds > Trees > Forest (Peter's Story)

“There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” -- Khalil Gibran
Peter, in a team meeting last week, heard me talk about Lotus Petal and mission 30x30. Before I know it, there was a donation made.
Education, you see, is something he is passionate about. Back in 2001, he and some friends at the Rotary Club of San Diego built a High School for homeless children in San Diego. He donated a 40 seat computer and audiovisual lab to the school and then he continued with a laptop donation every month to give as a gift to a deserving student.
The story is part of a book, “Guts!, Companies that Blow the Doors off Business-as-usual”.
Here’s a snippet:
--
At a planning meeting for Monarch in the early days, Peter asked Susan (chairperson), “What needs has nobody stepped up for yet?” When Susan shared her vision of a state-of-the-art computer lab, Peter pulled out a small pad of paper, made some notes, and said, “I’ll take care of that.”
Silence fell over the room.
Concerned that he didn’t understand the magnitude of the project, Susan came up with a long list of equipment that would be needed.
Peter didn’t blink.
On move-in day, he and 20 colleagues showed up and equipped a 20-station computer lab, including furniture and a big-screen projector. As he assembled computer furniture, Susan asked him about his dream job.
Peter responded, “I’m doing it now.”
--
People like Peter realize that “somebody else” won’t solve the problem. They step up, roll up their sleeve, and get to work. The foundations they lay, lead to future efforts. Ted Waitt, the founder of Gateway Computer, did a refresh of the computer lab several years later after touring the facility and the school. 30 years on, Monarch schools are changing the landscape of helping underprivileged in San Diego.
This is seeds, blossoming into trees, spawning into forests.
It’s inspiring and going with eastern traditions, a good omen when such people join in your cause.
Their mere touch is a blessing, that augurs well for Lotus Petal’s longevity and success.

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