Rudy at Urban Onramps gets the tip for the story of Tom Walsh, former US senate staffer and recent Jeopardy champion. After winning more than $186,000, Walsh used the money to go to Thailand, to work with International Justice Mission, which focuses on the victims of sex trafficking. He has a new blog, and on it, he has the following explanation of his choices:
When you get an unexpected, undeserved windfall like I did, you have to ask yourself, “Why?” For me, this trip helped put my Jeopardy exploits in perspective, & provided ideas for what to do with the money — the stewardship of which I take as a serious responsibility. I plan to direct much of it to help people in situations like those I saw overseas. I particularly want to help small, indigenous ministries with low overhead — ones that have little access to American resources, & which of necessity stretch a dollar as far as it can possibly go to meet human needs.
Look, I didn’t hit the jackpot when I won on Jeopardy, I hit it when I was born in America. Like most of us fortunate enough to live in this country, I already have food, a house, a car, the things I need. One Bible quote that didn’t come up on Jeopardy was Jesus’ remark, “To whom much is given, much is expected” (Luke 12:48). Exactly what that means in my new situation is something I’m working out, as are we all in our unique situations.
Tom is my hero of the week.
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