Determining Need

A few weeks ago, the science fiction editor David Hartwell died suddenly. I may have said hi to Hartwell at a con, but certainly no meeting of substance. In any event, Hartwell's wife, Kathryn Cramer, posted a request that, in lieu of flowers, people send money to the rural hospital Hartwell died in to buy the hospital a ventilator. (They didn't have one, although the lack of one was not medically significant in Hartwell's case.) Feeling generous, I sent a few bucks.

Over the weekend I got a letter from the hospital. Turns out that the reason the hospital doesn't have a ventilator is staffing, not cash to buy the machine. The hospital talked to Cramer and all of these donations are now going to support the emergency room.

In Rotary, when we do an international grant, we insist that somebody do a community needs assessment before we write the check. This sometimes feels awkward, in that the typical Third World town frequently "needs" everything. However, it's important to determine what the community needs and more importantly what they can (and will) use.

Cramer's request sits as a case in point. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end.