One person can make a difference, sometimes a big difference.
Scott Neeson had it made as a Hollywood executive living the good life. He lived next door to Cindy Crawford and dined with people like Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Steven Spielberg. As president of 20th Century Fox International his many successes included Titanic, Braveheart, Independence Day, X Men and the Star Wars prequel Trilogy. But something was missing in his life.
“I’ve always felt like you’ve only got this one life to live,” Scott explains, “I did the Hollywood thing. I accomplished more than what I ever expected and it just didn’t work for me. It wasn’t what it promised.”
Scott was living the so-called American dream, but it took a trip to a Cambodian garbage dump to find his true calling.
Giving Your Life Away
There among the garbage dumps of the land of the “Killing Fields,” Scott discovered the meaning of life: give yourself to something bigger than yourself, something that will outlive you. He decided to invest his time and energy into helping others less fortunate than himself, specifically at risk youth and their families–the garbage dwellers of Cambodia.
It has been said that if you give your life away in the bold enterprise of loving others, it will come back to you fuller, richer and more meaningful than you ever imagined possible. Scott’s experience bears this out.
Today, he leads an organization that offers refuge, education, medical treatment and leadership training to more than 1,500 children. Nearly two-thirds of these children once lived and worked atop the Steung Meanchey garbage dump and almost 75% are young girls. The dump was relocated in 2009, but the families remain and continue to rely on garbage scavenging as a means of survival, and instead wheel their carts into the city each day or night. CCF provides award-winning comprehensive care for these families and others who live in the impoverished rural regions of Cambodia.
Right now, as you read this, Scott is experiencing the “good life” in a whole different dimension.
