Clinton encourages public to lend a hand in ‘Giving’

“Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World”

by Bill Clinton (Alfred A. Knopf, 256 pages, $24.95)

Drought, earthquakes, ethnic cleansing, famine, flooding, genocide, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, warfare.

The world and its many problems can seem overwhelming. Disasters of various kinds test the limits of mighty nations and dedicated relief organizations. What, in the face of such dire events, can a mere individual do?

Plenty, according to “Giving,” a new book by former President Bill Clinton that offers a blueprint for altruistic engagement.

Before getting into those specifics, however, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Yes, Clinton’s many critics will dismiss “Giving” as just more taking, and it is true the text can be self-aggrandizing, as the ex-president mentions his own Clinton Foundation numerous times.

And yes, the book can’t help but be a good piece of public relations as another Clinton makes a run for the White House.

Anyone who can get past the noise, though, will find a well-organized, even inspiring book that provides idea after idea for people who want to make a difference.

A key point: We’re not all rich. “Giving” includes an excellent chapter on “Giving Skills” that serves as a reminder that money is not the only human commodity, perhaps not even the most important one.

“Most of us know how to do something not everyone can do as well as we can,” Clinton writes. “Transferring that knowledge and the ability to use it can empower others in amazing ways.”

Among his examples: Reading tutors; Women for Women International, which aids women in war-ravaged regions; and the National Academy Foundation, a not-for-profit organization trying to address America’s growing shortage of engineers and other technologically oriented disciplines.

As he does for each of the other chapters, Clinton provides, at the back of the book, a resource list for anyone wishing to get involved with such efforts.

“Giving Things” is another useful chapter. Your old baseball cards won’t do a starving child much good, but as Clinton notes, most “individuals, families, and enterprises in wealthy countries have things they can easily give away to people who need them,” including “books, school supplies … clothing, sewing machines, agricultural tools and other items.”

None of these ideas is especially radical, of course. But as with many other elements of our society, the charitable sector has become highly specialized. One challenge, then, is to let people know about the many worthy organizations that exist and direct them to ways they can help.

Clinton works hard in “Giving” to tap into the natural human impulse to lend a hand.

“There’s a whole world out there that needs you,” he writes, “down the street or across the ocean.”