WB11/WPIX-TV - February 2002

WB11/WPIX-TV - February 2002

Unsung Heroes - Angela McKenzie, Harlem, N.Y.

In Angela's own words:

I believe, that every day a person inhales God’s precious breath of life, is a day that he/she must expel that breath along with unconditional acts of kindness.

There have been many times in my life when I experienced seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and giving what little I had for myself would be considered an unwise decision by a logical thinker. At these times however, I chose to regard the circumstances as opportunities to embrace my faith in the universal law of cause and effect and I willingly shared my paltry resources with those in need. With every leap of faith I took, the universe never let me down. In fact, giving at difficult times, allowed me to deflect attention away from my own plight, gave me a different perspective on my situation and in turn helped me to find innovative resolutions for my obstacles.

Admittedly, apart from the psycho analogy, I also believe in a little bit of magic and that doing good deeds helps to build a storehouse of good fortune, for immediate and future use.

When I immigrated to New York City from Toronto, Canada a few years ago, among the challenges I faced, hunger and borderline poverty were the most prevalent. Like most non-New Yorkers, I grew up believing that NYC’s streets are mean and so are her people - not my experience. On days when I had nothing to eat, as if I was guided with divine precision, I was able to connect with kind New Yorkers who helped to alleviate my hunger. Perhaps I was drawing on my magical storehouse of good fortune.

As a person of color, who was not born with the proverbial silver spoon in my mouth, I am keenly aware that my challenges are taken a notch higher. In the game of high finance and golden opportunity, people of color are still very much spectators. Knowing this, I believe that in addition to performing random good deeds, it is worthwhile for us to be even more generous than usual, among ourselves. Hunger and homelessness perpetuates added problems including: lack of education, lack of access to adequate medical care, squalid living conditions and susceptibility to diseases like HIV/AIDS. It is our collective responsibility to ensure sustainability for our community, so that many more of us stand a chance of getting into and winning the game. From a long term perspective, an investment in our community today, will reap great dividends for all of us tomorrow.

Facing hunger and borderline poverty, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. It has given me the passion to make philanthropy my life’s work, beyond the random good deeds. More recently, my contribution towards the alleviation of hunger is made via the staging of musical food drives with my rock ‘n soul band, to benefit local food rescue mission City Harvest, Inc. I consider this nourishing both body and soul while obeying the law of give and receive.