Doing the Most Good
David L Miller, CHCIO, CDH-E, CPHIMS, PMP, FHIMSS, MHSA
As you hopefully already know, I am Dave Miller and I am the chief information officer for Optimum Healthcare. Most people whom I meet might see me as a highly successful executive, an accomplished professional, a Christian leader, a loving husband, father and grandfather. But what many do not see or know is that I am a life that was changed by the Salvation Army.
As the child of an alcoholic, our economic situation growing up was tentative much of the time. We lived from paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by on a regular basis. We were a family of seven, with me being the 4th child out of five, and life was tough on a good day.
One winter night, when I was 12 years old, we found ourselves on the street, with no home, no food and no way to even keep ourselves warm from the cold Central Illinois winter. I vividly remember the work of The Salvation Army in helping us through that particularly difficult time, and I have been grateful to them ever since, but especially at Christmas time every year. As a result of what the Salvation Army has done for me, I have been a lifelong volunteer and recently was honored to be added to the Salvation Army Advisory Board in my home town of Decatur, Illinois.
Of course, they do incredible work all year long. And the organization spends 86 cents of every dollar furthering its causes, with the remainder going to administrative costs. This ratio of 86 percent ranked The Salvation Army at the top of the U.S. charities list, according to Forbes.
This year, I have a goal to raise $5000 to help the homeless, the hungry and needy children through the services offered by the Salvation Army. Louanna and I have already started the process by adding $1000 of our own. Please consider adding to our online Red Kettle at:
https://www.onlineredkettle.org/DaveMiller//
In my local area alone, we have done some incredible work:
# Families Served 2855
# Persons Served 9124
# Families Receiving Food Boxes 1175
# Families Receiving Vouchers 1080
# Children Receiving Toys 3146
# Total Toys given 18876
Please consider giving to my online kettle!! If not, do something good for your own charity and let me know about it. I would love to hear about others who are doing good in their own ways.
Thanks in advance for your support!!
I love to communicate science and environmental news in lay language to the public.
9 年Dave, Thanks for this great post. I give to the Salvation Army all through the year. They are a charity that keeps admin to a minimum. I like that! Happy Holidays, Linda
Thanks, Alan!
Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer
9 年Dave, That is a great story. Thank you for sharing it and you commitment to an exceptional organization. Alicia and I have long supported the work of the Salvation Army and will continue to do so.