“Use whatever gifts God gave you in ways that will serve
each other." ~ 1 Peter 4:10
First authorized in 1792, the dime
became one-tenth of a dollar. It’s the
smallest, thinnest, and lightest of all U.S. coins in circulation.
Originally minted of almost-pure silver, the dime's silver
content was replaced in 1965 by a “sandwich” of copper and nickel and costs
about 6 cents to produce.
Since its introduction, the dime has been issued in six
different major types. You probably know
whose portrait has adorned its face since 1946.
But do you know why he was chosen?
It wasn’t because at age 51, he became the 32nd President. Nor was it because he was the only president
to be elected to four terms; serving for an unprecedented twelve years.
It wasn’t because as President, he guided America through
some of the toughest crisis, including the Great Depression and the Second
World War. Nor was it because his New
Deal policies created jobs for the unemployed, reformed Wall Street and the
national banking system, and helped bring about sustainable economic growth.
It also wasn’t because he was the first President to speak
on television, travel in an airplane, or the first whose mother could vote for
him.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s portrait appears on the dime for his
involvement in the “March of Dimes.”
In the 1930s, thousands of Americans contracted polio; often
paralyzed or killed by this incurable disease.
Roosevelt, sick himself with the disease, announced in late 1937 the
establishment of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP), in
which he was one of main supporters. He used
his own birthday to increase donations for the cause by organizing charitable
birthday balls.
To increase awareness of the Foundation’s campaign, radio
personality Eddie Cantor urged Americans to send their loose change to
President Roosevelt. Soon, millions of
dimes flooded the White House.
By 1945, the annual campaign raised $18.9 million for the NFIP
(which later changed its name to the March of Dimes Foundation) providing research
grants and scholarships to promising young students training in the science and
care for polio patients.
It was through one of those scholarships that Dr. Jonas Salk
became a virologist. It seemed
especially fitting that he would be the one who gave us the vaccine that
practically eradicated polio worldwide by the 1960s.
God gave us each unique abilities. If you think your talents are simply for you
to make a lot of money, retire, and die, you’ve missed the point of your
life. God gave you talents to benefit
others, not yourself. And God gave other
people talents that benefit you.
Lord, let Your energy flow through us,
giving us the power to serve others.
Teach us to use the gifts that You’ve given us to make the world better
for all humankind. Amen.
