It Is Not Social In-Activists, Politicians, Etc. Who Change The World

It is the individuals who work at helping one person.......

Lloyd for prime minister One thing's for sure, we'd have a country we could all be proud of

By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN, TORONTO SUN

Choosing a premier is important. So is choosing a mayor or prime minister.

But ultimately, politicians don't decide the kind of country we will have.

They can point the way, but we decide. All of us.

We decide, in the words of Martin Luther King, whether we will judge our fellow citizens by the colour of their skin, or the content of their character.

We decide whether to welcome the majority of immigrants who come here with good intentions, or to shun them all because of the minority who don't.

We decide, whether, when an innocent black boy is gunned down inside a high school in Jane-Finch, it touches us as much as when an innocent white girl is gunned down at Yonge and Dundas.

Finally, we decide if we will try to do something about it -- no matter how overwhelming the problems may seem, or how powerless we feel.

Lloyd Seivright, born in Jamaica, an immigrant to Canada, made his decision a long time ago. He decided King's dream was his dream. That he would honour his adopted country of Canada by living the motto of his birthplace of Jamaica -- out of many, one people.

So did the handful of volunteers of the organization he founded with his wife, Madaine -- the Independent United Order of Solomon. Ordinary people -- Lloyd works in a warehouse -- who believe, as all the world's great religions teach, that God does not ask us to help one another. He commands it.

And that the purpose of helping others is not to make us feel good about ourselves -- that is the byproduct -- but to lift others up so that one day, they will pay our generosity forward to others.

HELP ONE PERSON

Find one person, help one person. Then we don't have to change the world. By helping one person, and then another, and another, we change ourselves.

I've written about Lloyd and his still-small group before, how they today, astoundingly, donate a million dollars worth of medical supplies annually to more than 40 countries, starting with Canada.

How they provide, through corporate sponsors including Sun Media, 10 annual university scholarships to deserving students from Canada and the Caribbean. How they sponsor an annual Christmas party for families in need, of all colours, in Toronto.

On Saturday, Sept. 29, Lloyd's group will hold its 29th annual fundraising dinner at The Shriners Auditorium, 3100 Keele St., starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50. If you come, I know it will make you feel better about our city, province and country. The evening isn't fancy, but you'll see a room full of people whose better angels are at work. Lloyd can be reached at 905-828-5128 for tickets.

If you can't come, you could make a tax-deductible donation payable to the Independent United Order of Solomon Trust Association, 2420 Coppersmith Court, Mississauga, Ont. L5L 3B5.

I've worked with Lloyd's organization since 1992. I donate to the Order personally and I can assure you every dollar raised goes to charity. Lloyd and his volunteers -- recognized by the Order of Ontario for their good works -- pay all the administrative expenses out of their own pockets.

Years ago, I was conscripted into serving as the evening's permanent master of ceremonies.

My favourite moment will come when I call up Neal Baxter, son of the late Kay Baxter -- Jamaica's dynamic Consul General to Toronto from 1987 to 1992 -- to present the $2,000 scholarship awarded annually in his mother's name, sponsored by Sun Media.

3.99 GRADE AVERAGE

This year's winner, our tenth, is Yuecheng (Jacey) Zhang. Jacey, immigrated to Canada from China five years ago. Today she's a fourth-year computer science student at U of T where she maintains an incredible 3.99 (out of 4) grade-point average. She's modest to a fault and simply a delight.

And when that moment comes Saturday, as I watch the son of a proud Jamaican woman, himself a hard-working and devoted Canadian husband and father, extend a helping hand to a deserving young woman from China, who now calls our country home, I know what I'll be thinking.

I'll be thinking this is the Canada I choose.