Ever seen the Jimmy Stewart classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”? At some point, everyone probably gets one of those moments where there’s an intersection between right and wrong, David vs. Goliath, easy versus hard, or the road less taken.

Well, I was never an interim Senator, didn’t tangle with a local bigwig, or receive help from Jean Arthur (though I was supported by a cute gal at the college, who later became my wife). But I do have a story that will make you think a little more about donating this year.

While I was in college, I landed a dream internship, in public relations, that actually paid something. I was a few months shy of graduating, and hoped to impress the company so they’d keep me on. After all, there was a recession out there, and jobs were scarce.

Our company was a big giver to United Way, and usually led the fundraising charge. I was assigned to cover the event, as well as write up the publicity. During my lunch break, I read the Wall Street Journal, where I discovered a tiny story about United Way investigating their CEO. The story was pretty obscure, but pretty damaging, if the allegations were true. Sadly, they turned out to be true. This United Way leader was embezzling money from the charity and lavishing it upon a teenager with whom he was having an affair.

Well, you know how those young idealists in college are. I felt we had an obligation to disclose this information to our potential donors, as well as document the plan of reform. As you can imagine, some local political types freaked at the suggestion. They insisted we hush up the story (still in its infancy) and wait until after the campaign, when it would blow over.

My supervisors and co-workers backed me, and sent me like Daniel into the lion’s den, when it would be presented to the company’s board. The opponents, with years of seasoned political experience, spoke first, pointing out how there was a recession out there. My coverage of the issue would be giving people an excuse not to donate. The needy would suffer.

Then it was my turn. Miraculously, I didn’t stutter or crack up as I spoke before powerful folks in business, the military and political backgrounds, though I was trembling inside. I didn’t have any stirring Cicero-like orations, Reaganesque charm or Obamaesque talent for connecting with the masses. All I had was the conviction that we had to come clean on the scandaml, regardless of the consequences to the fundraising drive.

I was pretty sure that by making waves, I cost myself any chance to hang on to my job. To my surprise, the board agreed with me. We ran that story, as well as information about how United Way changed so that something like that wouldn’t happen again. Defying all expectations, in the midst of a severe economic downturn, donations actually increased over the previous year. It was more miraculous than the board agreeing with me over the older, more experienced types.

This year, we face another challenge. United Way has cleaned up its act significantly since that scandal (and that CEO went to prison for years), and is helping even more people than before. But we’re in a similar economic situation to what we saw in the early 1990s. Recently, I heard an idealistic young student talk about the importance of serving United Way, in front of a sparsely-populated event, due to inclement weather. Let’s all do our part this year, and help those in need, and not let those optimistic college kids down.