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Imagine opening the newspaper and reading your own obituary.
Ludvig Nobel, a Swedish-Russian oil industrialist and one of the world’s richest men at the time of his death, died in 1888. It was the obituary of his brother, Alfred, however, that mistakenly appeared in the paper. This obituary was not very flattering and Alfred was concerned how he would be remembered after his passing. As a result of the error, he was inspired to change his will.
Alfred specified that he wanted his considerable fortune, $186 million, to be used to create a series of prestigious prizes for those who “confer the greatest benefit on mankind” in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. These prizes, first awarded in 1901, became known as the Nobel Prizes. In 1968, a Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences was added.
This year’s Nobel Prize for Economics really caught my attention. The prize was awarded to three professors for their work in addressing global poverty. The laureates did not earn the prize for some amazing new economic theory. Instead, they earned it for their work in developing real-world applications to solve problems regarding education deficiencies and children’s health.
Clearly, global poverty is very different compared to the issues of poverty we face in Northeast Pennsylvania. Yet, since changing our model of service in 2014, the work of the United Way of Wyoming Valley is, philosophically, very consistent with that of this year’s Nobel Prize winners. For five years, we have been very focused on practical approaches to improve the education and health of children. In fact, more than three quarters of our funding supports initiatives and interventions related to the education and health of at-risk children throughout the Wyoming Valley.
While we will not be completing a Nobel Prize application anytime soon, the news of the prize in Economics was affirming to us. The United Way of Wyoming Valley is proud of its partnerships with other nonprofit agencies and many of our local school districts. Together, we have been aggressively promoting and advocating for stronger families, parent engagement, school attendance, grade level reading, out of school time programming, abuse and neglect prevention, health screenings, and so much more. Last year alone, the programs we fund and the initiatives we support touched the lives of more than 17,400 children throughout our community. We are confident that number will grow again this year.
After erroneously reading his own obituary, Alfred Nobel wanted to forever be remembered for promoting good for mankind. Like Alfred, I would bet many of us also want to be thought of favorably after our passing. If we want to be remembered for doing good and making a difference, we could do so by helping kids, our own and others throughout our community, reach their potential.
For the past 20 years, there has been a plaque on my office wall with a quote from Forest E. Witcraft, a scholar, educator and an advocate for children. This plaque has travelled with me from one office to the next and, for me, it is a profound thought and a good reminder of what is most meaningful in life. It reads… “One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
If you read an obituary that was prepared for you, would it be flattering? Being important in the life of a child, would be a nice way for many of us to be remembered. No doubt, there are prizes for that.