A million dollars wouldn’t go very far in this day and age, but if I had $1M to give away, I would ensure my family and friends didn’t have an urgent financial need first, and would donate the rest.

I refuse to give to an established charity because I’m not quite convinced that money donated to the majority of non-profits goes towards the actual cause. I’m sure there are honest charities out there that have low administration costs. Unfortunately, I’ve had first hand experience with organizations that held the “non for profit” title and were shady as fuck. One in particular that I am intimately familiar with is currently raping the Government, a.k.a. the American taxpayers, charging tens of millions of dollars more for a service than they should be, all in the name of a nonprofit and mandatory sole source. It’s fucking disgusting.

Instead, I would start by reaching out to a handful of local schools. I would first pay off all negative school lunch balances. Next, I would establish an “I Forgot My Lunch” program at these schools and would donate an initial set amount, with the intent that hungry kids could discreetly request a lunch. I would purchase coolers to be able to store homemade lunches that other parents can donate, if they choose. I don’t know about you, but I would gladly pack an extra lunch a day if it meant a classmate of my daughter or son didn’t go hungry.

I would also plant a handful of fruit trees and help with the starting costs of a “school garden” for as many local schools as possible, to teach kids how to not only grow their own food but what to make with the produce that is harvested. I would purchase seeds for sprouting and growing and pay to build garden boxes. I would fund the salary of a school gardener and a holistic chef until I was able to fill the positions with local volunteers. I guarantee once the program was established, I would have no problem finding a few retired individuals to help support the program.

I understand there are established Government-funded school lunch programs, but “I Forgot My Lunch” would be geared towards all kids and promote an “it takes a village” mindset. I understand my $1M wouldn’t go far and there would only be a handful of schools I could touch, but my intent would be for neighboring schools to realize the benefits and follow suit.