Thanks to good friend James Nellis, I had the pleasure of recently visiting with a man by the name of Jordan Fischer. He is the Director of Development for a charitable organization helping orphans in Cambodia to get educated, called Asian Hope.

What really got my attention was the story of one of these orphans who has benefitted from the charitable efforts of Asian Hope, Bora Chheang. Thanks to the organization, he was able to come to the U.S. and just graduated high school here in Colorado. In the fall, he'll go to college in California. His gratitude and understanding of giving inspired him to run a marathon to raise money for other orphans to go to college. You can read all about it here.

This is what it's all about, in my opinion - at whatever level each of us can contribute, whether in dollars, in time given, or in spreading the word, the greatest reward is when the recipient embraces the power of the gesture. As the proverb teaches, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and you feed him for life. Seems to me Bora knows how to fish!

Wherever you choose to put your philanthropic energy, please share this example, and lead by example.