Do you give to charity?

Rydia

Rydia

Throwing rocks at emo kids
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Do you give to charity? Why or why not? How often?

I give to charity from time to time. But not money. I'm always afraid that the charity that I am writing the check out to is just a scam and that no one that actually needs the money will ever get it or benefit from it. There are the exceptions, like if someone wants to build a building or needs money to fix something, then I'll consider it.

I like charities where you buy things that will be donated to people such as tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, clothes, food, ect. I also like giving trees that you find in religious buildings, malls, and toy stores where a kid puts down a gift that he/she wants for Christmas. I always find the kid that wants a bike. And I always give away my old clothes to charity.

My college department did a mission trip to Mexico. I didn't go because I always get sick the first few days when I'm in a new place, but I did buy toys that they could donate to the orphanages that they were going to work at.
 
I don't often these days. I used to... but now not so much. Mainly because money is tight for everyone these days and I'm not really in a position to be helping anyone else but as so as me and my family are back on our feet then I'll get back to it.

To be honest, it's not that much. Whenever there's a collection bucket I would just stick my change and maybe a fiver in there. But every little helps I suppose.
 
I donate clothes that I don't wear anymore to charity, its win-win really; I get more space in my wardrobe and people in poor countries get good condition clothes.

There was also a case in the past few weeks where I made a donation to a Cancer trust and a hospital, but it was slightly different to a normal donation; the football club (soccer for Americans) I support, Portsmouth FC, are currently in financial doom, and it was made clear that they didn't pay Cancer Trust, despite handing over a massive cheque on the pitch, and also they failed to pay for Ambulance services. Therefore the supporters of the club including myself decided to make donations for the two groups, and successfully raised the amount owed to them. It wasn't for the criminal owners at the club, it was for the club's reputation and for the two groups.
 
Only true charity I do is St. Judes Children's Hospital. I'll give more reasoning behind it, but I also help out around Christmas time and give a kid a small christmas. (called helping tree)

St. Judes I raised a good $300.00+ dollars for last year and then proceeded to run the half marathon there. I plan to do the same this year and hopefully earn a bit more as well as run the full marathon.

All other charities I'm pretty wary about.. but to each his own I guess.

Reason is, because sometimes I think kids need more than us. I want our future generations to have the best as far as medicines go.
 
Rydia said:
I give to charity from time to time. But not money.
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^^ I'm pretty much the same as you. I don't mind giving out things that I don't use anymore or old clothes I don't wear. I do this because I think the people that really need it will have some useage of it. I just don't want to put my hard-earned cash into a charity to have it wasted (not sayinbg this happens all the time) but, I just prefer to do it that way.
Lately, I haven't gotten 'round to donating anything but I do every so often.
 
I don't give to charity at the moment as I'm not earning. I'm jobless at the moment, and will start looking when I finish uni (in two days :gonk:).

I've donated some things in the past, but not really money. I don't donate objects often either, as I'm very much a hoarder and can't bear to part with anything that I have memories attached to.

I did however work as a volunteer at a charity for about 5 years, and stopped recently as the place closed down, so I've been helping out in other ways I guess.

I wouldn't just sign my name and money off to any charity though. It's sometimes tempting when you feel sorry for a cause just to do that. but unless I have lots of money to throw about I'd rather donate to the causes I'm more familiar with and know are legitimate.
 
I've never really directly handed a check or any form of money over to a certain charity. Whenever possible, I'll give away my old clothes and shoes that I don't have a need for anymore.

My family's in a pretty tight spot right now, as are most middle class families at the moment. We don't necessarily have the means to go and give away money, so we don't.

Plus, I don't have a job, obviously. All of the money I earn or recieve goes towards myself and my family.

I suppose if I ever do end up donating things in my adult life, then I'd only donate towards a charity focused on children and third-world countries. These are the main charities I would actually want to donate my money to.
 
Despite my "don't give a fuck" demeanor on the internet, I give to charity by volunteering every week to help kids in the impoverished sector of my city graduate from highschool and get into college. You know, help them get out of the school-to-prison pipeline. Where's the gratification out of just writing a check anyway?
 
im a bit of a scrooge. i dont know where the money's going and i probably dont care about who it'd be going to. the main reason im put off is that fact that its almost frowned upon NOT to give money...in certain situations anyway. charity should be about wanting to give not feeling you have to and i really just dont care enough to give anything. unless im feeling overly generous but that never happens.

the last time i parted with cash to the help the needy was when i gave a busker a pound. he was playing (and singing) hey joe on his guitar, looked like a bit of a junkie but he was entertaining me nonetheless instead of the scrounging junkie bastards you see sitting about the street begging for money. any time i pass him on the way to the music shop i'll give him a pound maybe, but for selfish reasons i spose...he's doing something for me aka entertaining me.

but generally...no, i dont bother with charity. it usually begins and ends at home with me.
 
I don't really tend to give to any sort of charities.

How I see it is, I need my money that I work very hard for, so I'd like to spend it on me. =/

It sounds selfish, but it isn't really, considering I'm not obligated to give hand outs.

I have done it a few times when I was younger but when you get older you realise that you can't do that sort of thing all the time. =/
 
Like a month ago or so, I went to Applebee's for dinner on a Friday night, and they asked me if I wanted to donate $2 to Make a Wish. So I said sure why not. They even gave me a magnet, which I put on my refrigerator (the only magnet I have to (y)).

Other than that, I've never donated to charity. I've always been too sceptical about where my money is actually going. I know my parents donate to St. Jude, and have done so for many years, so if I were to donate to a charity, it would be that one.
 
I give £1 to the British Legion each year for my poppy and so I can show my respect, but that is about it. I don't really donate casually - I don't see donation boxes around very often, although there are legions of people in town hailing people trying to get them to give £2 a month or whatever to this or that charity. Being called out like that annoys me, its one of the reasons I always turn them down. Not to mention I don't really have the money for that sort of thing.
 
I know I've posted already, but I wanted to mention this, does it ever erk you that some people flaunt charities that they have given to? I mean these are the exact people who are out till 2 am drinking at the bars or doing crazy threesomes (not literally, extreme examples for a laugh) and then repent on sunday morning.

Me, like I mentioned before I raise money, but I barely give much unless it's to a kid around Christmas (because I don't have it). Folks donate to my 1/2 marathon sponsership, and it gets then given to St. Judes. Now I don't flaunt it, but I do support it. The best thing I can do is run for the damn cause though, since I'm generally a broke ass.

I don't guilt folks into giving money or whatever, I just advertise it by my name, just in case someone feels like they can help. The people that do put it in your face and make you feel guilty, should flat out burn.

So my thing is, if you have the money and you feel the will to give, then hell do it. Otherwise no one is going to condemn you for it, to be honest I support helping out friends and family first before reaching out the charities. You gotta take care of yourself before helping others, is my motto.

And No offense to Darfur and the mess over there, but who thinks this is a worthless charity (may I burn in hell). Reason I say this is because in the US people are losing their jobs left and right and internally I could see money given to fellow people around here more beneficial than just putting it up to an organization, where you have no idea what it will go to. (even if they say it will go to food, clothes, and shelter.. it could be a bold face lie, I like to see what I'm working with)
 
Yes I do hate when people brag about how much they give to charity. It seems they only give to make themselves look good, not because they actually care. Or they wear those shirts that say "I gave to charity today!" Or something like that. I know Hoxworth blood puts those "Be nice to me, I gave blood today" Well that's great, but don't make me feel like an ass because I did not give blood or could not give blood.

And I'll sound a little bitchy here, but I was annoyed at how much exposure Haiti was getting. At my school people would have up tables collecting money, and if you didn't donate, you'd get a dirty look. And I couldn't help but think, "what about all the poor people in the US!" or "What about other people in the world who are starving!" People acted like Haiti was the only place where a natural disastor had ever struck or where children were dying of starvation. Now I'm not saying that giving money to them was bad or stupid, I just feel that it went on for way too long. Even more annoying is that after people donated, they had to go around and tell everyone how much money they gave.

The last time I donated money was to the victims of Katrina. And I was a little disheartened to find out that many of them were spending the money that they recieved on tatoos and other things that they didn't need for survival.

There was another instance at my school where a group wanted to raise so much money for some charity. They did so by playing Hanson's Ooobop over and over again until they got the desired amount of money that they wanted. People shoud have given to that charity because they wanted to, not because they wanted the Hanson music to stop. (It played in the student center from 10am to 5 pm)
 
It is a bit counter to the idea of giving to flaunt your charity; however, I would say the person that gives to brag is doing something better than someone who doesn't do shit. It doesn't matter if the guy gave for an ulterior motive, at least he fucking gave something? I remember a friend of mine said the exact same "look he's flaunting his charity" to some guy wearing a $2 bracelet for heart cancer. Too bad my friend doesn't give to charity at all.

Plus the only reason you can be guilted into giving to charity is if you actually....feel guilty for not giving. That means that deep within you feel a bit disappointed in yourself for not doing something that you know you should be doing. There's no reason to get mad at the guy asking for money just because you feel like shit for not doing something.
 
No I don't, I like to spend my money on stuff I enjoy. I'm not particularly selfish, I just care more about myself than I do about starving kiddies in Africa. If I could donate to charity without making myself poorer then I would, but I can't.
I also think there's something terribly cynical about how charities hang around universities. They know that students have a conscience and like to give money to charities, and they also know that students can't afford to.
 
lreal said:
That means that deep within you feel a bit disappointed in yourself for not doing something that you know you should be doing.
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or it could just be that people make you feel awkward because they think its everyone's duty to help everyone else and quite frankly its not. if you want to do that good on you. but i couldnt give a shit about ngwangho in ethiopia who's starving. i care about my friends and my family and my wallet. if you want to run about on behalf of the rich bonos and bob geldofs of the world trying to scrounge money off people who cant really afford it thats your business, but dont be so disappointed when people dont part with their cash.

ngwangho doesnt care about any of us. he's just as selfish.
 
I don't really support any specific charities and I don't write out huge cheques or anything, but whenever I see someone with a collection box, I usually drop in a bit of spare change.

As for people flaunting their charities? I don't really have a problem with it. Sure I think it's a bit crass, but If bragging rights is what it takes for them to donate money to those in need, I then why not? It doesn't make their money worth any less than anyone else's.
 
Jimmeh said:
or it could just be that people make you feel awkward because they think its everyone's duty to help everyone else and quite frankly its not. if you want to do that good on you. but i couldnt give a shit about ngwangho in ethiopia who's starving. i care about my friends and my family and my wallet.
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What? So someone guilts you into giving money by making you feel awkward? No, someone guilts you into giving money by making you feel guilty...well less you're some kind of pushover.

Great sentiment btw. This is pretty much why capitalism works and communism fails. Compassion is unpredictable because it comes and goes while greed is reliable since it's always there :)
 
I HAVE done in the past, had the odd dontation set up here and there, also done abit of charity work, I rarely throw any money inthe charity boxes though, mostly because i dont like carrying cash, and im not about to throw anything more than abit of lose change in them anyway

I hate the people that try to accost you when you are out and about shopping, I understand they want money and are gunna get it anyway they can, but dont be trying to ruin my day by making me feel guilty about not wanting to cough up

If i fancy donating I will, as it is, I need my money right now, Ive my own bills and shit to pay

We shouldnt have to be made to feel guilty for not donating to charity if we dont feel like it.
 
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