What would make a person like Jim Pattison donate so much of their time and money?

Read the excerpt from "how i learned english.” and that was important, as important as joe barone asking me how i was through his tears, picking me up and dusting me off with hands like swatters, what does the imagery in the excerpt best readers picture? the awful stinging sensation of being dusted off the quick slapping motion of joe’s hands how roughly the speaker is pulled off the ground how loud and hard joe is laughing

It was a bitter cold saturday morning ,the young track star dressed for his daily five mile run

Brendan is playing in the backyard.