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Lessons learned
There are two lessons in all this: First, a charity can come back from the brink. It wasn’t easy or fast, but we did it. In these hard times, I know there are others that are where we were in 1994. You can survive if you have the will to make the needed changes. Second, words matter. If the thing you’re fighting is terrible, you’re going to have to talk about terrible things.
I don’t want to give anyone the impression that I or anyone else at American Leprosy Missions relishes talking about leprosy. I think every decent person rightly feels uncomfortable with something as awful as leprosy.
I hate leprosy. I pray for the day when it is wiped off the face of the earth. I wish I never again had to say that ugly word. I’d be much happier never to see the terrible images of people suffering from the disease. But I think most people will agree that a world where there’s no leprosy would be far better than a world where we politely never mention leprosy — but it goes on ravaging lives.
We aren’t going to ignore leprosy out of existence. The only way we’re going to beat leprosy is to fight it on the front lines, one patient at a time. And that’s going to cost money — money that comes from donors who are moved to act by seeing what a vile enemy leprosy is to mankind.
I can’t help but mention that it costs only $300 (that’s $25 a month for a year) to find and cure someone with leprosy. I hope people reading this will consider stopping by our Web site at leprosy.org and giving something; that is surely one of the great “bargains” of philanthropy today!
— Christopher J. Doyle
president and CEO,
American Leprosy Missions
American Leprosy Missions, founded in 1906 and based in Greenville, S.C., is the oldest and largest Christian organization in the United States devoted to restoring the lives of people affected by leprosy and related conditions worldwide through holistic cure and care.
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Art & Science of Multichannel Fundraising
