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Millionaire Columnist Gives Away Dollars and Sense
| Article
# : |
11643 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1986 |
3,834 Words |
| Author
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Ronda Miller
Ronda Miller is a freelance writer who specializes in human
interest stories. She currently resides in Irvine,
California. |
When he was six years old, little Percy Ross watched his father punch a hole in the lid of one of his mother's mason jars. Jars were dear and necessary for storing preserves during the cold, lean winters the family spent in the small copper mining town of Calumet, Michigan.
But the jar held in his father's work-worn hands was special. It was going to be a bank for the boy. Percy made good use of the container. Earning pennies at small jobs, he soon held a jar filled with $10.50 in shiny copper pennies. It was a heady experience for the six-year-old boy.
But the year was 1922 and his family was poor. With grim resolve he told himself, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a millionaire." And then he gently, lovingly handed the heavy jar to his parents. The money helped buy food for the family that winter.
Today, Percy Ross is an internationally known millionaire and columnist. And he is still giving his money away. His dual childhood dream of amassing a fortune in order to help the needy became today's reality only after years of hard work and heartbreak.
"He who gives while he lives...also knows where it goes" is the Ross maxim. His trademark is the silver dollar, which he happily distributes by the handful (up to 100,000 each year) to people he meets on the street.
Percy Ross is internationally known for his humanitarian and philanthropic works. His favorite pastime is helping others - the disadvantaged, the poor, the very young, and the
... (1996 of 21069 Characters)
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