We have all felt the effects of the recession in one form or another. Whether that be through job losses, cutting back on the luxuries and in some cases that I am aware of cutting back on the basics like food. You may be the most generous person in the world but if you’re one of the people where you are now cutting back on the basics then you have to be the priority above everything else. I would never ask anyone to consider supporting charities if it meant not being able to put food on the table.
It is a fair assessment to say that charities are getting more and more assertive in their appeals for money, especially in recent times. How many times are you stopped in the street by people with clip boards asking you to donate a certain amount per month by direct debit? How many adverts do you see in the paper asking you to donate a certain amount of money? There used to be a time where a charity was grateful for any donation, now it seems they are only grateful if you donate £5 per month. With £5 I can make a meal that would last me a couple of days! Then we have the very hard hitting adverts on TV that get the point across. All these charities are worthwhile causes and I am not saying you should stop donating to them, far from it.
With all of these international, national and local charities needing your help how do you choose who to support and more importantly how do you support them? You would have to be a very rich and generous person to support every single charity that approaches you. The method I use is to support charities that I have a connection with. Unless I have asked a charity to contact me then the answer is always no, especially with those charities who seem to think it is acceptable to stop me in the street.
Charities don’t just need your money; they may need donations of clothing or other second hand items. Charities need volunteers to raise money, work in shops, to spread the message or to work with those they support. Everything has a value! You may not be able to donate money or items for the charity but your time is just as valuable. To employ someone to work for a day on the national minimum wage costs £45.84 and that is before all the other costs. As you can see there are huge amounts of ways to support a charity.
I currently support the following charities www.nshn.co.uk, www.uk-sands.org, and www.templestreet.ie, mainly through donations either on a monthly or yearly basis.
On a side note, if you’re on twitter then don’t forget to vote for Sharon Corr, MrsStephenFry and miafund for the Ms Europe. http://tweeterwall.mallplace.com/tw/continental/ms-europe
