Don Becker of the Becker Law Office gives back to the community
Little big philanthropy
Little big philanthropy
“I really get a lot of joy out of seeing someone who is not afraid of being innovative, seeing that spark of interest and inspiration from the individual,” Becker
said. “Give it a shot. If it goes, cool. If it doesn’t go, then we’ll try another variation. I’m not under any delusion that anything I invest in is going to be great. But
you have to reinforce positive ideas. That is a lot of fun.”
Becker has no process and it seems at times no pattern to his giving. He has helped teachers experiment with a hybrid reading program that may help more
children with different learning styles learn to read on time. He helped a young woman who couldn’t afford it to rent a cap and gown for her high school
graduation. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school.
And then he has taken on bigger projects like helping to develop a prototype sit ski to help disabled individuals enjoy his passion of cross country skiing. “I
met some disabled skiers through the Capitol Square Sprints,” Becker said. “These are particular skiers that compete on a special chair that attaches to cross
country skies. And you are pushing yourself with the poles. We ordered a sit ski. It cost $1,500. The price just outraged me. IWho in the world is going to start a
new sport if that is what it costs to start it? So I talked to someone whom I met through another friend who happens to be the head of the center for Rehabilitative
Engineering and Adaptive Technology at the University of Wisconsin Engineering School. His name is Jay Martin. Jay put some senior design students on the
project and they came up with a sit ski that was going to cost about $150. And it is adjustable. So people could try it out through a ski club or through an
adaptive sports group or through a ski area. Once we get through the prototype stage, we’re going to build 100 of them and give them away, sit skies and poles,
so that people who are disabled can actually go out and try this. That wasn’t my engineering idea. It was more my thought that we should be able to do better for
a population of potential sit skiers. $1,500 just didn’t seem fair.”
And then there was the effort to get electric toothbrushes into the hands of low-income families to promote dental hygiene, which can affect so many other
parts of the human body. Becker got the idea after attending a lecture at Access Community Health. Through Access, Becker was able to purchase 2,500
electric toothbrushes for distribution to Access’ dental clients. He was able to use economy of scale to get the best bang for the buck of his charitable dollar.
Becker has pledged $30,000 to the Lussier Community Education Center because again, he feels there will be a big bang for every dollar he donates. “I’m
familiar with the Chicago Longitudinal Study, which documented the impact a neighborhood community education center had that led to tremendous
difference in the lives of people 19 years after the fact,” Becker said. “Incarceration rates, graduation rates, performance in school, just a number of different
measures showed a really significant difference in people’s lives. Plus my good friend the late Jane Buffet was a great supporter of the center. When I heard that,
it really helped me to make a decision. There are a lot of good things happening right there. Things came together and it just kind of made sense.”
In many ways, Becker’s propensity for giving is his small way to make sense out of a world that doesn’t make sense at all. “It’s the old lesson from Sunday school:
‘Do unto others …,’” Becker reflected. “It’s pretty simple. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said you have to help the world like you want it to be. And you can’t sit back
and expect things to just happen.”
Through his giving, Becker has helped make positive sense for many children and adults in this corner of the world. And as Becker would say, that’s quite a
hoot.
said. “Give it a shot. If it goes, cool. If it doesn’t go, then we’ll try another variation. I’m not under any delusion that anything I invest in is going to be great. But
you have to reinforce positive ideas. That is a lot of fun.”
Becker has no process and it seems at times no pattern to his giving. He has helped teachers experiment with a hybrid reading program that may help more
children with different learning styles learn to read on time. He helped a young woman who couldn’t afford it to rent a cap and gown for her high school
graduation. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school.
And then he has taken on bigger projects like helping to develop a prototype sit ski to help disabled individuals enjoy his passion of cross country skiing. “I
met some disabled skiers through the Capitol Square Sprints,” Becker said. “These are particular skiers that compete on a special chair that attaches to cross
country skies. And you are pushing yourself with the poles. We ordered a sit ski. It cost $1,500. The price just outraged me. IWho in the world is going to start a
new sport if that is what it costs to start it? So I talked to someone whom I met through another friend who happens to be the head of the center for Rehabilitative
Engineering and Adaptive Technology at the University of Wisconsin Engineering School. His name is Jay Martin. Jay put some senior design students on the
project and they came up with a sit ski that was going to cost about $150. And it is adjustable. So people could try it out through a ski club or through an
adaptive sports group or through a ski area. Once we get through the prototype stage, we’re going to build 100 of them and give them away, sit skies and poles,
so that people who are disabled can actually go out and try this. That wasn’t my engineering idea. It was more my thought that we should be able to do better for
a population of potential sit skiers. $1,500 just didn’t seem fair.”
And then there was the effort to get electric toothbrushes into the hands of low-income families to promote dental hygiene, which can affect so many other
parts of the human body. Becker got the idea after attending a lecture at Access Community Health. Through Access, Becker was able to purchase 2,500
electric toothbrushes for distribution to Access’ dental clients. He was able to use economy of scale to get the best bang for the buck of his charitable dollar.
Becker has pledged $30,000 to the Lussier Community Education Center because again, he feels there will be a big bang for every dollar he donates. “I’m
familiar with the Chicago Longitudinal Study, which documented the impact a neighborhood community education center had that led to tremendous
difference in the lives of people 19 years after the fact,” Becker said. “Incarceration rates, graduation rates, performance in school, just a number of different
measures showed a really significant difference in people’s lives. Plus my good friend the late Jane Buffet was a great supporter of the center. When I heard that,
it really helped me to make a decision. There are a lot of good things happening right there. Things came together and it just kind of made sense.”
In many ways, Becker’s propensity for giving is his small way to make sense out of a world that doesn’t make sense at all. “It’s the old lesson from Sunday school:
‘Do unto others …,’” Becker reflected. “It’s pretty simple. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said you have to help the world like you want it to be. And you can’t sit back
and expect things to just happen.”
Through his giving, Becker has helped make positive sense for many children and adults in this corner of the world. And as Becker would say, that’s quite a
hoot.
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 2 of 2
While large donations to non-profit capital projects usually make waves and grab the headlines, there
are other philanthropists out there who operate underneath the radar of public recognition. While the
amounts they give may not drive a single project, their routine giving to worthwhile projects drive a certain
level of social change and generate, dollar for dollar, as much community goodwill as any multimillion
dollar gift could produce.
Don Becker, the managing partner of Becker Law Office, is a little big philanthropist who generates a
lot of goodwill with his donations. Becker recently pledged $30,000 toward the construction of the Lussier
Community Education Center on the grounds of Memorial High School where his children have gone to
school. The level of Becker’s giving will never get him naming rights for a building — he probably wouldn’
t want them anyway — but they are enough to make small projects feasible.
Part 2 of 2
While large donations to non-profit capital projects usually make waves and grab the headlines, there
are other philanthropists out there who operate underneath the radar of public recognition. While the
amounts they give may not drive a single project, their routine giving to worthwhile projects drive a certain
level of social change and generate, dollar for dollar, as much community goodwill as any multimillion
dollar gift could produce.
Don Becker, the managing partner of Becker Law Office, is a little big philanthropist who generates a
lot of goodwill with his donations. Becker recently pledged $30,000 toward the construction of the Lussier
Community Education Center on the grounds of Memorial High School where his children have gone to
school. The level of Becker’s giving will never get him naming rights for a building — he probably wouldn’
t want them anyway — but they are enough to make small projects feasible.
| Don Becker recently pledged $30,000 toward the completion of the Lussier Community Education Center. |