Nygard’s Golden Jubilee Review
It’s not an everyday occurrence to discover an individual who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps to achieve phenomenal success with a business that’s still breaking barriers, still achieving firsts, and still innovating fifty years later. What does it take? How did he achieve it all? And how can we achieve similar successes?
That’s what we’ll explore in this tri-weekly series. We’ll break down fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s achievements and look at how his accomplishments can serve as practical applications to others in business and life.
How Much His Giving Matters
Everyone who knows fashion mogul Peter Nygard knows this one thing that has always been evident about him—that is his willingness to give unceasingly.
We’ve told the story several times about his strong desire to always ‘share his toast’ with those less fortunate than himself.
As we all know, he has shared millions of dollars of his wealth with cancer patients, athletes, the underprivileged, the mentally challenged, medical patients, the youth and various community groups.
So, as an individual of means, or a company in the community, why does it matter if you give or don’t give?
There’s an interesting account of one of the many times Nygard has opened up his home to a group of kids—some of whom are underprivileged—that speaks volume of why it matters.
In a Tribunearticle, “Children Thrilled By Playground Home” (By Arthia A Nixon, July 12, 2002), the reporter quoted one of the participants reaction to the experience of visiting the Nygard Cay home:
“‘I really, really like it. Mr Nygard said that we can have a place like this if we want to work and dream so I am going to get one like this one day, too.’”
In fact, Nygard reportedly did. The article shared his message to the one hundred kids visiting:
“‘If you want to live in a place like this you can,’ Mr Nygård told them.
“‘I wasn’t always a wealthy man. If you have a dream and a vision for a future then you can have anything you want if you are willing to work at it.’”
The article describes why it’s been so important for Nygard to give so much:
“‘What I want to do is give them the dream and a vision that everyone can live a life they choose based on what they desire.’
“Mr Nygard said he can’t think of anything more exciting than having the children move up and down the house at their leisure.
“‘I want to share what I have with Bahamian kids especially because they have so much to learn and so far to go in their future,’ he added, ‘I hope that they can be influenced to go after their dreams.’”
Imagine if these kids hanging out at Nygard Cay really are able to maintain that motivation to work hard and create similar success in their lives as Peter Nygard has? Can you imagine the impact on the country?
You often hear many people stating the well-known axiom, ‘the youth are a nation’s future’, but how seriously do we take it?
To what extent do individuals or businesses focus on motivating the youth to seek more for themselves, to dream big and know that it can happen?
We pay lip service to this adage because it sounds good in speeches. But really, it should be an essential focus in the country. It’s not enough to have the standard ‘education’ and ‘youth programs’. There needs to be more.
As much as there is a serious focus on any area of government, there should be a concerted effort to go beyond the usual practices and youth programs that are likely in need of revamping.
Members of the corporate world within The Bahamas don’t appear to go beyond their token giving either. Their contributions to the growth and development of our youth are not enough to have the kind of transformational impact The Bahamas sorely needs.
It can’t be a token gesture. However, meaningful contributions will only come from a deep abiding love of for the country and desire to make a real difference.
These types of giving that Peter Nygard has been and is engaged in for so many years throughout The Bahamas is a true reflection of his love for the country and its people, as well as his commitment to the growth and wellbeing of The Bahamas.
Wouldn’t this be a great nation if there were more Peter Nygards giving in such meaningful ways and impacting the lives of so many?
