November 24, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes
His Name Is Today: Bob Macauley and AmeriCares
by Bill Halamandaris
Bob Macauley would be the first to admit he’s no saint, writes Bill Halamandaris in his biography of the founder of AmeriCares. A lackluster student, Mr. Macauley spent his post-college years working as a nightclub piano player in Europe and later founded a paper mill.
But in 1970, when Mr. Macauley read a newspaper article about an American working to provide homes for Vietnamese orphans, he used his savings to start a foundation to support the cause. His efforts drew the attention of Pope John Paul II, who 11 years later asked for Mr. Macauley’s assistance in bringing medical supplies to the people of Poland, which was then under martial law.
When he succeeded in airlifting $1.4-million worth of aid to Poland in a matter of months, Mr. Macauley began thinking about creating a “strike force” that could offer immediate relief to people in need. With the founding of AmeriCares in 1982, the author writes, Mr. Macauley created an organization committed to keeping overhead low and avoiding bureaucracy.
As a result, says Mr. Halamandaris, AmeriCares has been the first charity to arrive on the scene following disasters across the globe, including Chernobyl in 1986, Rwanda in 1994, and Chechnya in 1995. Among the “Bobisms” the author credits for the organization’s success: “Red tape kills.” “Take everything seriously but yourself.” “Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.”
The author, a writer, co-founder of the Heart of America Foundation, and friend of Mr. Macauley, personalizes the book by providing anecdotes of his own friendship with political and philanthropic luminaries such as George H.W. Bush and Mother Teresa.
Publisher: Jameson Books, P.O. Box 738, Ottawa, Ill. 61350; (800) 426-1357; 203 pages; $25; proceeds of books purchased through the AmeriCares Web site (http://www.americares.org) or by calling the charity at (800) 648-3278 will be used to support AmeriCares; ISBN 0-915463-93-8.
