A Simple Use of Wealth

I’m heading back to my vacation home today for a short break, maybe ten days or so. My grandkids and family will follow in a few days, and we’ll all be together for Halloween.

Over the last few years, my holiday neighbourhood and the local community have built something special: a two-day Halloween festival that’s snowballed into quite the event. There’s a fancy dress parade, a ghoulish disco party, and a spectacular fireworks display launched from the harbour by professional pyrotechnicians. Thousands of people now join the celebrations.

Here’s what makes me proud: the entire festival is funded by myself and my fellow holiday homeowners, with the local community providing the infrastructure—the venues, the harbour, the volunteers who make it all work. It’s a true partnership.

And for two magical nights each year, we get to watch nearly a thousand children—from every kind of background—light up with wonder.

Outside of charitable giving, I honestly can’t think of a better use of my personal wealth. Not grand gestures, but this: a little bit of joy for kids who might not otherwise get it. A memory they’ll carry with them, whatever challenges their young lives bring.

There’s an old adage that money can’t buy you happiness. But on these October nights, I see something different. Money, when used wisely, can absolutely create happiness—not for yourself, but for others. It can give children a piece of pure childhood magic. And watching their faces in the glow of those fireworks? That’s worth more than the cost.

Money is a wonderful tool when it’s put to work with purpose…It also doesn’t hurt that I’ll have the chance to savour a few Guinness at my favourite harbour bar beside a warming fire.

Happy Halloween.