Colors of our Caring

You can get your badge of caring at Costco this week. Yesterday the Costco checker asked me if I wanted to donate a dollar to "The children's hospital" along with my purchase. Costco's offer to help support 170 kids' hospitals is a typical way to pry loose some giving from middle-class consumers; lately I've been approached at the movie ticket counter and the grocery, too. At a dollar a donation, there's little reason to say no. The kids' hospitals are having a telethon this coming weekend.

At Costco, though, I got more than the momentary warm glow of self-appreciation after giving my dollar. Costco gave me a plastic colored wristband to wear after I donated. Lance Armstrong's cancer foundation made these efforts as famous as the AIDS effort made the ribbon symbol. I wear a Lance wristband and a cap with an AIDS red ribbon, each organization being the originators of the icon. I'm not big on the follow-on ribbons or bracelets. Everybody gets to use whatever works to raise money or awareness. But any ribbon you see printed on a magnet — like those on pickup tailgates in our red states — might be asking for awareness on a temporary basis.

The colors associated with such things have become an issue, too. Yellow ribbons have their own tie-in, thanks to Tony Orlando and Dawn. Yellow got staked out on the bracelets by a man who's worn the color in a certain bike race every summer since 1999. But the colors are getting crowded. My friend Steve sent me a black bracelet that says, "I Did Not Vote for Bush." Green is especially crowded, the wristband that symbolizes the fights against diabetes, lukemia, depression and the slaughter in Darfur.

My Costco wristband for the Children's Miracle Network breaks into new territory. It's multi-hued, an orange-yellow blend that reflects the Network's colors. Wal-Mart is participating too; the CMN was started by Donny and Marie Osmund's mom, and it raises $300 million every year. A couple of my friends wear two of these, a conversation starter. We are learning to expect these merit bracelets from our giving, a way to wear our feelings on our wrists instead of on our sleeves.