The Bankers' Relief Fund

A recent televised charitable appeal on behalf of The Bankers’ Relief Fund:

Scott has to fly business class. He no longer has access to a corporate jet. Gone are the days when he was picked up at home by a chauffeur-driven limousine. Now he’s forced to drive himself to work in a two-year old Lexus. Lunch is in a two-star restaurant only and not on the company expense account.

Scott is just one of the hundreds of victims of the latest banking crisis. Once a noble Wall St. banker who tirelessly helped to provide residential mortgages to those who couldn’t afford them, now Scott himself has to try to cope with less, much less.

Unlike you and me, corporate bankers can’t put aside money for a rainy day. They have to keep up appearances. And that means millions spent on everything from suburban mansions to downtown condos to country getaways. Not to mention expensive vehicles and mandatory made-to-measure suits.

Some unfortunate bankers have already fallen on hard times. Stories abound of financial executives being forced to exercise long-held stock options. In a few tragic cases, some sadly had to go so far as to dip into family trust funds.

So please look into your heart and give what you can to help Scott and those like him. Whether it’s a million, a hundred thousand or even just ten thousand dollars, whatever you can afford to give will help.

For example, for a donation of only a thousand dollars a week, you’ll be able to ensure that Scott’s children can still attend private school. Two thousand a week lets Scott and his family continue to vacation in southern France rather than be forced to rent a cottage on the Maine coast.

Time is running out for Scott and his hard-hit colleagues. Seven-figure severance packages and annual, six-figure bonuses only go so far. Having to defer that new car purchase an extra year or switching from Russian caviar to domestic can be hard on any family.

So please act now and give generously to The Bankers’ Relief Fund. Remember, the banker you save may be your own.