When we hear of solicitations, chances are our mindset would be to give away old clothes or canned goods just to say that we made a charitable act. But while this is something generous of us, it may be wise for us to use logic at times. Old clothes still have categories and this includes “still usable”. These days, people forget about this important necessity. We stock up old clothes and put them in sacks since we cannot use them. But before we placed them there, we already have an idea on whether they can still be used or not.

Old clothes are a big help to the needy. But apparently, we cannot discount the possibility of giving away clothes that are good as trash. Since we donate them, people receiving them do not have a choice of selecting and make do with what we can give. But personally, we should take out the clothing that are no longer usable.

Canned goods can be in any form. The normal ones we give out are the cheap ones such as sardines. For a couple of extra bucks, perhaps we can add something different like perhaps milk or something healthy. If all the poor people had to live on sardines, imagine at the level of help they can get.

All I am saying is that when you give to charity, mean it. It is not about taking something out of the closet or the kitchen cabinet to say you did a good deed. We are giving to people as well. Just imagine how you would feel if you were in their shoes.

You know how most often, when we talk about helping charities, we think about actually giving money to them? I suppose that this is the norm – people do not have enough time so instead of volunteering, they offer financial help instead. What if I told you that there is a way to help charities without having to volunteer or give money in the traditional sense?

Jerrie Dean presents the idea of sponsoring a charity. There are many ways by which you can sponsor a charity without having to make an initial cash lay out. For example, if you have an online store, why not sponsor a specific charity that will receive proceeds from the sale of a specific product? This will not only encourage your customers to buy that product (because in effect, they will also be contributing to the charity) but it will also show how socially responsible you are.

Another way would be to simply create awareness for your favorite charity. Add a banner and/or a donate button to your favorite charity on your web site. Of course, an informative write up and a link to the charity’s web site will even be more helpful.

The bottom line is that just because you do not have the cash does not mean that you have to stop helping out.

The churches have had the benefit of being watched over and it would not be surprising if charities would follow suit. It would not be surprising if evil eyes would monitor charity organizations and their activities since we all know that money comes to them from the free will and voluntary acts of citizens aiming for a good cause. Has humanity lost its mind in targeting the religious and goodwill organizations as well? It really should not be surprising.

For one, there are people who are becoming desperate these days. They need money to survive and feed their families. Bad or good, the only important thing for them right now is providing. If they can get away with it, then it would be good for them. But in case they don’t, well at least they tried. They would live a better life in prison with full meals would they not?

The mentality seems to be deranged. But the fact is that unless something subtle comes up, people are always at the edge of their seats. They continue to hope and pray but apparently most of them are unanswered. So with that in mind, the only thing left right now is to protect the organizations operating for a good cause. Now that is something we never thought would be seen before.

There are a lot of foundations that have taken this cue and even gone to the extent of helping them earn their keep and efforts through referrals and sponsorships. Working for a cause is the best term to generalize everything that these disabled people invest. Rarely would you see people putting time for such people who make the best out of what they can.

People who have some deficiencies cannot live normally but in most cases, it is the disabled people who seem to show more promise because they know that in their hearts that there is so much to accomplish if they are given a chance to be side by side with the normal and fortunate people of today.

Technorati Tags: disabled, charities, foundations

Around the world, it cannot be denied that there are a lot of people who are experiencing poverty and issues regarding their manner of living. A lot would depend on where they are situated, the country and of course the manner of living that majority of the region is experiencing. Not all countries are blessed with a good economy to which people can find a way to survive with the available jobs to choose from. Some are just plain unlucky to be situated in them like Vietnam, Africa and so on.

The good thing about the world is that people from other countries do not hesitate to lend a helping hand to the best of their abilities. Help in any form cannot be measured and people in need do not really have much choice. Hence beggars really cannot be choosers in this case.

Help in the form of food, clothing and other materials essential for living is being sent to most parts of the world. Some would even render volunteer work and services just to reach them. In a sense, they can call themselves lucky that there are people who still care for what the world has to deal with today.

I remember that, as a kid, my mother would much rather give in kind. Not only did we not have that much spare money, she would also say that it is much better that the people who need things can get the things they actually need. This would also lessen the temptation to use the money on other things that may not be urgent needs. I have come to adopt this way of thinking most of the time.

That is why, when I read an article on Penn Live about donated items becoming less, I felt a tinge of sadness and worry. It got even worse when I read the reason behind this. Apparently, instead of people giving old or used items to charity, people now tend to make use of eBay and other similar venues to get rid of their stuff.

But you know, you can’t really blame them. The economic times are crazy, and even those who were relatively well off are finding themselves in trouble. Who would blame people when they try to make some extra money in most any way they can? At least they are not doing illegal stuff, right?

Still, this is an eye-opener for me, and I hope that it will be the same for you. Perhaps it is time to re-examine our spending and giving habits. Perhaps there are some things that we can afford to give to those in need.

Photo courtesy of thaths

A lot of them are made up of orphans and old people who have been abandoned. For orphans, they never really experienced what the true meaning of Christmas truly brings. They only hear about it through the papers or from stories by people who visit them but as far as really enjoying the season of giving, majority are clueless on how it is like.

As for elders who have been abandoned, they have at one time enjoyed the spirit of the Yuletide season. They know how much joy it brings to any home and while they are sure that past experiences are cherished memories, the fact remains that they have to spend Christmas differently from hereon.

Social community services have been put up to try and share the spirit of Christmas to these people. It is not simply about giving gifts. It is about being there for them since they really have no one else to celebrate anymore. Even if you ask them, it is about fighting off the loneliness that they experience during these times. Apparently, it all comes down to making do with what they can this coming holidays and rest assured, being loved or having company around is more than enough for them this time around.

This does not only include expenses. It goes as far as trying to limit food needs for the meantime that the world is in crisis. It is not something that they have much to decide on. Today, if you don’t do the right measures, chances are you may find yourself worse than the beggars we see sleeping in the dark alleys today.

No one is exempted from the economic disaster we are experiencing today. Everyone is included and surely we are all adjusting to it. Even charity groups need to do their adjustments as well and most of them can be perhaps tagged as basic measures to get through this debacle besetting us.

So can they do it? Of course they can. We are all in this together. While some people can still provide some sort of help, it is best to measure that they are not as bulky as before. Unless something comes up to improve the problems we are facing, then we just have to wait and see if things look up, charities included.

If you think that charities are not affected by the economic crisis these days then guess again. Remember, donations and contributions to which most charitable institutions rely on heavily come from the pockets of people who can spare and afford to support them. No thanks to inflation, even these people today are hit by hard times of high prices, cutting down on expenses and of course charitable contributions.

Charities are totally helpless in this aspect. Donating to charity is not a demandable thing. They are done out of voluntary will and for the people who used to do this, how can they if they themselves cannot survive the growing problems of daily needs? In short, inflation goes way beyond the financially able, they hamper them and makes them stay away from expenses or donations that many would see as a big lift towards aiding agencies put up for a cause.

At this rate, we may even see more suffering for these charitable institutions. How can they maintain their charitable ways if they cannot sustain their territories due to the financial crisis? A scary thought indeed and if it does happen, it seems like more people are destined to suffer than to be aided. In the end, it is the people to be blamed as well considering that we all have our own faults in contributing towards world crisis today.

In a survey of eight local safety-net organizations, several said the need for financial and in-kind donations is becoming desperate. Without additional support, they say, severe cuts in services are inevitable and likely will begin in August.

Others – while dealing with a flat financial year, a spike in demand and rising costs – are holding their own. But they’re banking on a benevolent holiday season to keep up.

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