This is a warm little known story about the good Mr. Allen has done for a small PNW town about 400 miles from Portland. The short story is, through the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the dream of a local library and discovery center for a remote town became real. The long story is a small town so remote it is a hour and a half drive to the nearest Walmart (if the road is clear) was down and almost out. The largest local employer closed their doors. Many of long time residences, some of the families dating back to the earliest settlers and gold miners, were struggling to maintain a respectable family life style. These are a proud people, and they understood the need for a library, and the good this educational resource would do for their children’s future. But where would the money come from? Not only was their local economy the worst it had been in a long time, so was the entire country’s economy. Money and jobs where tight everywhere. Enter Mr. Allen. His foundation offered to donate $2 for every $1 the locals donated. I am not sure how much Mr. Allen’s foundation donated; however, my impression is in the $200,000 -$250,000 range. The new library and discovery center opened in 2003. What has this library meant to the locals? It brought high speed internet service as well as the only cell phone service to the area. The library helps residents apply for jobs and unemployment assistance and learn basic computer skills. The library is the heart and hub of the village, and their connections to the outside world. Mr. Allen made a difference by improving the lives of the families in this small town.
Paul Allens other charitable contributions according to the thread titles on the "similar threads" section at the bottom of this page include donating $100 million to fight Ebola, and "Jamming with the Underthinkers". One of those is not like the others, and seems less like a charity, and more like a form of torture; I will let you decide which one is which.
Got featured on Rachel Maddow. That's how you know you've arrived! She cited it as good news, gave the back story of how the mission was so secret no one looked for them because no one knew they were there. There are no plans to bring up the wreckage, this is the sailors' final resting place.
Being uber rich isn't what it's all about. It's all about what you do with the money. I think he's someone we all can be proud of.
What he's doing to save elephants is amazing. There are a couple documentaries that are worth watching. http://www.vulcanproductions.com/ http://mashable.com/2014/10/31/paul-allen-great-elephant-census/#TaBz8aZkjuqY
Yet this new push to aid the world’s reefs comes with its own risks, and with many questions. A large-scale restoration effort could be expensive, and so far, governments have put up only modest sums, despite the hit that their multibillion-dollar tourism industries could take from continued deterioration of the reefs. Private philanthropists — including Paul G. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft — are paying for much of the early work, spending millions. But will they ultimately commit billions? another reason to be proud of the blazer's owner http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/building-a-better-coral-reef/ar-AAsfjsz?ocid=spartandhp
Researchers share never-before-seen images of US ship that fired 1st shots at Pearl Harbor http://abcnews.go.com/US/researchers-share-images-uss-ward/story?id=51647875
