Nothing Was Delivered

My friend Matt had a huge heart. He was a light-up-the-room-with-a-smile type of guy. Excited and excitable, he brought with him a boundless energy. Without a doubt, he represented the best of our impulses.

The one constant about Matt was motion. There world was too big for him to sit still. After high school, Matt joined the Army to see the world and maybe, in some way, make a difference. So he went to Iraq. We never talked about it much, but when they called, he went back. When he was stateside, you could tell that south Jersey couldn’t quite hold his attention any more. But even when he left, he never left his friends behind.

One thing about Matt was that he never saw a problem as unsolvable. So when, while studying at Rutgers, he saw the trouble other vets were having getting access to college financing, he signed up with a service to help them, and he threw himself into it.

My friend Matt passed away a few days ago, on the morning of his 32nd birthday. The night before, he went to his friends and asked them to donate to his cause, the Rutgers Veterans Emergency Scholarship. Since his passing, his friends and family have been very generous, and we have hit his modest goal of $2500. But we can do more.

This is good cause. The organization provides much needed assistance to soldiers who have just returned from a traumatic ordeal and are trying to pull their lives together. I hope that you will find possible to donate. Every little bit helps.

Please find it in yourself to give a little something. Make a little difference. It’s what Matt would have done.