Written by Chuck Mackie, Maven Wave Partners and 3Points Communications
For the past five years, I have been the co-chairman of a fundraising event here in Chicago called ALTSO Rocktoberfest and it has taught me that it’s possible to have a win/win/win situation: doing well for yourself and having a good time while doing good for others.
I have spent my 30+ year career in and around the futures industry in Chicago and the business has been very good to me. In 2012, I was approached to get involved as ALTSO looked to hold their first fundraiser in Chicago. ALTSO stands for A Leg To Stand On and it’s a 501-c-3 charity that assists children in 10 programs in 9 countries in the developing world who are afflicted with limb disabilities. Without treatment, these children often can’t attend school and if they can’t attend school then they can’t get a job and if they can’t get a job then they may not be able to marry and so on and so on. ALTSO truly gives these children “a leg to stand on” and to date they have assisted over 15,000 children and more than 2,000 in the past year alone.
Rocktoberfest is the main fundraising effort for ALTSO and it brings together musicians from the financial industry who raise money in order to have their bands perform. Band from banks, hedge funds, exchanges, trading firms and others compete to see who can raise the most money in order to get the prime playing slots at premier venues: this year the Chicago event will be held at City Winery on October 6. If you love rock and roll, it’s a lot of fun!
In the past five years, I have personally helped ALTSO raise over $100,000 and I’d be lying if I said that I did it solely for the kids. I got something out of it as well and that something even goes beyond the great feeling that I have knowing that I affected the lives of hundreds of people. It also helps me in my industry because my colleagues can see that I give my time and effort to something that is bigger than me and isn’t just about my material gain. I believe that I will gain both professionally and monetarily in the long run based upon what I do to make Rocktoberfest a reality.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so honest in revealing that my personal gain figures into what someone else might claim is a selfless act of giving. But I believe that we are social animals and that giving and altruism are ingrained deep in our DNA, making an act like volunteering for ALTSO a true expression of that which is best about the human race. And I get to have a great time dancing to rock and roll while I’m doing it!
To find out more please visit the website: www.altso.org
Disclosure:
Chuck Mackie, Maven Wave Partners, 3Points Communications, and ALTSO are not affiliated with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC or CWM, LLC.
