What's the Best Way to Do Good?

Todd R. Wagner

Founder
The Todd R. Wagner Foundation
Dallas, Texas

I pursued the American dream and won -- by almost any standard. At the ripe old age of 38, I found myself CEO of a public company that, at the time, had the biggest one-day gain in Wall Street history. We sold the company, and I'll never have to work again. Not everyone has an equal chance to attain that kind of dream. I had the background and the training to make it happen. What percentage of Americans really have such an opportunity?

Everybody can do something that makes a difference. Everybody has talents that could help someone else. Entrepreneurs, especially, can contribute real business skills to nonprofits that can help programs function more efficiently and reach more people.

That kind of social entrepreneurialism isn't philanthropy. It isn't just writing a check. It means devoting time and skills to doing something -- like mentoring a business.

I chose to work with minority-owned technology startups, because growing businesses is what I know and love. I also believe in the equalizing power of technology. It's the one thing that can create a level playing field. Everyone can't get a four-year college degree, but we can all gain technology skills and open up limitless possibilities for ourselves.

I realize that what I've begun to do this year is just the first step. And I know that I'm going to make a bunch of mistakes. But the one thing that I don't want to be guilty of is hesitation. I'd rather be out there trying than sitting on my couch wondering what I should do next.

Todd R. Wagner (toddwagnerfoundation@yahoo.com) cofounded Broadcast.com, where he was CEO until Yahoo! acquired it in 1999. He turned down the COO position at Yahoo! to pursue private ventures and to fund an equity-capital initiative for minority-owned technology businesses. He also helped launch a neighborhood technology center in southern Dallas that provides free Internet access and training. His work with the Inner-City Games Foundation in Los Angeles earned him a Man of the Year Award for 2000 from the organization.

Bea Salazar

Founder and president
Bea's Kids
Carrollton, Texas

In 1990, I had undergone back surgery and was on disability. I was depressed and just trying to get through each day. One afternoon, when I was putting out the trash, I saw a little boy digging in a dumpster for food. I took him inside, made him a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and sent him home. Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at my door, and I opened it to find six more kids standing there. "Is it true that you're giving away peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches?" one of them asked.

I couldn't believe that there was no one caring for these kids. It was summer, and school was out. They told me that their parents had to work. The next day, more children showed up, and more arrived the day after that.

When school began again, kids came and asked for help with homework. Volunteers and supplies from local churches and schools poured in. My landlord donated an apartment, and soon I had 100 children coming to visit each day. Ten years later, 5 of the kids have begun community college.

I never thought that making one peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich would grow into something that would affect so many lives -- especially mine. Those kids pulled me out of myself. There was a point when I stopped thinking about my own pain and started concentrating on somebody else's. It's true that when you help others, you help yourself.

There are so many people in need. We all tend to live in our own little worlds, and we don't see that. Step outside, and look around for places or people in need of your help. You'll benefit as much as they will -- maybe even more.

Bea Salazar (beaskids@aol.com) , a grandmother of seven and a great-grandmother of four, was an electronics-plant shift worker before founding Bea's Kids. Since its establishment as a nonprofit in 1992, the program has provided after-school meals and mentoring to more than 500 children. Last spring, Salazar received Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network Use Your Life Award.