Donating not a bad addiction to have

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: August 17, 2008

Jim McVay has a problem with giving; he can’t stop.

He’s donated gallons of blood since college, organized and helped fund a $14,000 basketball court for the Elk Hill school for troubled youth, served on numerous charity boards and takes tennis to teeming masses of grade school kids through the Charlottesville Tennis Patrons Association.

Now he’s giving 50 kindergarteners backpacks stuffed with school supplies.

For the fifth consecutive year, Mr. McVay, 56, will donate to the Monticello Area Community Action Committee backpacks full of what every beginning student needs.

“There are all of the usual school supplies, but I try and make it a little bit of fun with stickers and fun bookmarks and things,” Mr. McVay said from his Roy Wheeler Real Estate office.

A little incentive never hurt

Mr. McVay’s giving streak started when he pledged to a fraternity during a college blood drive. The campus organization that donated the most blood would receive a keg of frosty malted beverage.

“I was informed that I would give blood,” he laughed. “I’ve been donating ever since.”

When Mr. McVay picks a project, he sticks with it. He’s a few pints short of giving 25 gallons of blood over the years and this is his fifth backpack giveaway. That means he will have distributed 250 outfits to new school kids.

He orders the backpacks from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, picks up basic supplies from discount retailers and then adds fun items from Teacher’s Edition on Commonwealth Drive.

Everybody likes cool stuff

“What I hope is the backpacks will get the kids excited about going to school and make that first year fun,” he said. “I hope they say ‘I’ve got this cool backpack and all this great stuff: I can’t wait to go to school.’ If they didn’t have it, they might say ‘those kids have cool stuff and I’ve only got a pencil.’ I want them to look forward to school.”

The backpack project came about when he and a friend were looking for a way to help people fight winter’s cold. Conversations with friends who work in social services convinced them to forego the Christmas gifts to adults for fall treats for kids.

Adults have several options, he explained. Kids’ options are fewer.

“You can have a great deal of impact if you do a project at a different time of year for a different group and this seemed like a good idea,” he said.

For Mr. McVay, giving is a way of getting.

“Basically, I do it because I get a kick out of doing it. When you do good things for other people, it makes you feel good,” he said.