Perception and Perspective

Buick. Chevrolet. Oldsmobile. Chrysler. 

What do you think of first when you hear these names? Car companies, market niches, shared moments in time, apple pie and baseball, a skyscraper in NYC, Hemi power? All of these thoughts relate to your perception of the name itself, reflected in how these names are used in contemporary language.

When I think of Buick, I think of David Buick, who started his own automobile company in 1903, a company known for its engineering excellence and racing heritage. He was also the inventor of the enamel process to coat bath tubs. The Buick Motor Company was one of the original companies William Durant bought to form General Motors. David Buick died penny-less in 1929.

When I think of Chevrolet, I think of brothers Louis and Gaston Chevrolet – Swiss immigrants and daring racecar and motorcycle drivers. Louis raced David Buick’s cars, and Gaston died in a wood track race. Louis founded the Chevrolet car company in 1911 with William Durant.

When I think of Oldsmobile, I think of Ransom Olds. He founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897. He created the first mass produced car and the modern assembly line.

When I think of Chrysler, I think of Walter Chrysler. He was a rail road mechanic in the western US, before going to work for William Durant as head of Buick Motor Cars. He started his own car company in 1921.

All of these names that mean so much to us today were the names of daring young men at the turn of the 20th century. They staked their fortune, reputations and sometimes their lives to live and build a dream they had. The legacy they created has endured for more than a century, and we rely upon the fantastic conveyances they built every single day.

We as fundraisers work with individuals who are changing the world every day. We cannot know the legacy that they will leave – the legacies of the caregiver, the endowed fund donor, the researcher. We often only think about this current moment – just like the perception of Chevrolet just being a car company.

I think it is good for our own perspective to take a step back, and focus on the larger realm within our work. As a fundraiser at a top level pediatric academic medical center, so much of what we do, see, and say is about the immediate. But we are privileged to help build legacies like the giants mentioned above. Legacies of gifts graciously given that will change kid’s health forever. Legacies of lifetimes gained by the lives we save every day. Legacies of the students we train who continue leading and discovering new medicine.

It is good to take a step back and think of the legacies we are privileged to help start.