Day 4 - Ehav gives me $30 million dollars!

Here I am behind on my commitment again!  Now I understand why Ehav mentioned writing them in advance.

Day 4
If you had 3 months with which to spend $ 30 Million in order to change the world what would you do?

My first thought was that thirty million was not enough.  However, let’s see what we can do.  After participating in many community meetings, including one tonight, I think that I want small concise projects.  Grand ideas seem to run into headwinds every time.  Even so, I may need to hire some protection during my three months.



Charity should extend outwards, I think.  So let me pay off my minor bills. It would be laughable to get hauled into bankruptcy court while handling 30 million.

The neighborhood:
The neighborhood is faltering.  In some part, this is because of “vacant” apartments that were damaged by the storm.  I have vacant in quotes, because the neighbors and the police indicate that some of the apartments have been taken over by drug dealers.  So the vacant apartments get torn down or purchased from the owner.  If purchased, a local church, Acorn, or Habitat for Humanity will be offered the chance to manage the apartments and offer them for rent.  (A church in the city built its own apartment complex so there is precedence for this.)  Habitat could rent the apartments to their clients who are in the process of building their own homes.

The city of New Orleans.
I live in an unincorporated area, so I don’t have a city of my own to aid.  New Orleans has real needs, but here I want to do something symbolic.  The city has loads of memorials to Civil War Confederates, but no memorials to the African Americans and other people of color who build this city.  I’d like to take one of those old slave exchanges and create a memorial and museum for the people who built this city.  It must be a living museum that teaches, hold festivals, presents local art, and brings in major exhibits.  There are a couple of very small art museums of this type in town, but nothing that connects history, art, music and education.

The State
Here, we would run into state politics.  Mass transit is a real need in an area where many do not have autos.  It is a political problem because those-who-have do not want to provide for those-who-have-not.   Education is an issue in south of the state where the parochial system is older than the public system.  I could provide scholarship money to students, but eventually the money will run out. I could build a mass transit system, but in the current environment, it would die from determined neglect.  (Some homeowners allow their property to deteriorate on purpose because the city will not allow them to tear down historical property.  I know what would happen to my inter-city train) On the state level, I will have to settle for scholarships at private schools and selected colleges. 

On second thought, perhaps I can provide travel scholarships to students.  I think that it is so important for children to see different ways of life. 

The Nation and the world
So much is needed!  In so many areas!  Safe houses for battered women.  Health care for the poor and health care for our veterans.  That doesn’t even mention money for dreams.  Whenever I donate food, I include cake mixes in the box.  Everything item need not address survival.  A few items should address fun and whimsy.   Therefore, some money for basic medical research.  Research that is unfettered by the current administration’s preferences.  A half million for the Carl Brandon society that gives awards for African American SF writers and a half million for the group that gives the James Tiptree Jr. award every year.