The private charitable response to Katrina has been extraordinary. Americans have already donated over $500 million -- more than double the $239 million donated in the 10 days after 9/11 and more than triple the $164 million contributed in the immediate aftermath of December's tsunami.
And the money is just the tip of the giving. All across the country, ordinary people are donating food, water, clothing, diapers, baby formula, toiletries, flashlights, toys, dog food -- you name it -- as well as offers of housing, transportation, and entertainment.
"People all over," said Amanda Janes, a San Francisco coffee shop owner who organized a local Labor Day collection of goods, "are looking for a way to do a little bit more than giving money, because writing a check doesn't feel human enough."
This wellspring of altruism is one of the great untapped resources of our country -- squandered by a president who talks a lot about the fulfillment that comes from serving "something greater than ourselves" but has repeatedly blown the opportunity to call on the American people to commit themselves to a large, collective purpose.
After 9/11 he called on us all to go to Disney World. What will he ask of us in the wake of Katrina -- to stock up on "Girls Gone Wild -- Mardi Gras" DVDs?
But whatever the president does or doesn't do, let's hope the rest of us build on this outpouring of generosity.
I say this both selflessly and selfishly. Selflessly because it is so desperately needed: as surely as Katrina has left thousands in Mississippi and Louisiana in urgent need of assistance, it has also shone a spotlight on the gaping chasm between the Two Americas and the crushing poverty that exists largely out of view throughout America. Selfishly because the under-reported benefit of service is what it does for those who are doing the giving -- especially our children.
That's why I've always loved the idea of families volunteering together -- not as some feel-good act of noblesse oblige, but as an effective answer to the pervasive narcissism of our consumption-crazy culture.
America today is plagued with disconnections -- rich from poor, black from white, red state from blue, and parents from children. One of the greatest ways to bridge these divides is teaching children from an early age the importance of making service an integral part of their lives. It helps them see beyond the importance of being popular to the importance of being useful. Children brought up to feel that their lives have a larger purpose beyond themselves are more likely to keep their own troubles in perspective.
Ten years ago, I wrote a book I called The Fourth Instinct where I argued that we are all born with an instinct for altruism and giving as surely as we are born with instincts for survival, sex, and power. But like muscles that need to be exercised, our kids' generosity and compassion can only be developed through regular use.
Danielle Crittenden and Rebecca Pigeon are two mothers who wrote on HuffPost this week about the impact doing something for the victims of Katrina had on their children. And I've watched my own daughters absorb lessons through putting giving into practice they could easily have rejected if I just preached them.
I imagine that parents all across the country whose children have taken part in raising money with lemonade and cookie stands or by donating their toys to Katrina's victims know exactly what I'm talking about. So we shouldn't let this moment pass. When families gather around to decide what they're going to do over the weekend -- go to the mall? see a movie? hit the beach? -- donating their time and talents should be among the regular options.
Through volunteering, we can not only help those in need but also help raise more fully rounded human beings.
As Rev. Henry Delaney, who had been transforming boarded-up crack houses in Savannah, Ga. once told me: "I want to get people involved in what we're doing. It's like putting a poker in the fire. After a while, the fire gets in the poker too." It certainly does.
Of course, in no way does this let our government and our political leaders off the hook. Private charity can play a vital role in helping mend broken lives, especially those shattered by a sudden crisis like Katrina. But the task of caring for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the storm (to say nothing of the even bigger challenge of overcoming poverty in America), is far too vast to be achieved without massive governmental resources. Sure, ordinary Americans have donated half-a-billion dollars -- but the relief effort has already burned through the $10.5 billion Congress approved just last week, and estimates put the overall rescue and rebuilding price tag somewhere in the range of $150 billion to $200 billion.
At the same time, government dollars will never be enough to turn lives around without citizen engagement. We desperately need both.
And a president willing to ask us to do more than go shopping.
[Check Instapundit for a comprehensive list of Katrina relief organizations to donate to.]