The selfish thing I would do is put away enough for a secure retirement, so I could continue to help others. The more important thing I would do with the money is create organizations geared toward helping older animals and “older” children find homes.

First, the animals. I have been involved in animal rescue and one of the saddest things is how people are not interested in rescuing older animals — everyone wants the puppy or kitten. In many cases though, what holds people like myself back is the huge financial cost associated with rescuing an older pet. They often require expensive medicines, surgeries, treatments, etc. If we could offer funding to people who are willing to give these abandoned animals a dignified and loving last few years, it would greatly reduce the number who are put down.

Now the children. As a stepmom of a young man with learning differences and a PDD (Pervasive Development Disorder), and someone who has considered adoption, I see a real need to support parents who are willing to adopt older children who require psychological and educational resources that are beyond the parents’ means. I would love to create an organization that would give assistance to such people, and reduce the number of older children who simply age out of the foster system without ever having a loving forever family and without receiving the tools they need to succeed in life.

Just a couple of longwinded thoughts from a former features editor at American Banker…