April 23, 2009
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Charity
This entry is for the Featured Grownups challange for the second half of April, where we are to write an entry on an abstract noun of our choice. Since I work in an organization that promotes philanthropy, I thought I would make an attempt to define what charity means to me.
First let me tell you what I believe charity is NOT.- Charity is not giving out of feeling that the person you are giving to is pathetic (I believe most recipients, who refuse any kind of charity, feel like this is the spirit in which charity is given.)
- Charity is not giving so that you can take a tax deduction. (When I clean out my closets and give my clothes to charity, then take a tax deduction for it, it’s merely a means of gettin
g something out of throwing out my old stuff.)
- Charity is not giving for recognition. (If I give to an organization so that I can get my name listed on their wall or in their publication, that’s not charity, it’s buying recognition.)
- Charity is not giving so that you can feel virtuous. That may be a result, but if that is strictly the reason, so you can say to yourself “I have given money to a great cause, so I am a great person.” then it’s not really charity. It’s buying virtuosity (at least, in your own mind).
Here is what I think charity IS.
- Charity is giving because you really want to help someone. You maybe have been where they are and maybe you were too proud to reach out for help, but you want to help them while also trying to help them keep their dignity.
- Charity is giving even if you can’t deduct it from your taxes. For example, buying a homeless person lunch, or giving them a few bucks so they can buy themselves lunch. Or thowing money in the Salvation Army kettle.
- Charity is giving because you really feel for the cause, and you don’t care if they knew it was you who gave or not. Giving anonymously. Throwing money in your church basket, without an envelope that says who you are, what you gave so they can send you a tax statement at the end of the year.
- Charity is giving because the cause moves you. Because you really want to
do something, anything. It could be volunteering to teach someone to read, or to tutor someone in math, or to be a Big Brother or Big Sister because you want to help a child become a productive adult, help give them some self-esteem (these are usually children from one-parent homes who are often in the care of a babysitter while the one parent at home works unless the parent is lucky enough to have a job during school hours.)
- Charity is giving out of love.
I have written about my charitable exploits. And by my definitions here, it almost seems like they aren’t really charity. Does writing about them mean I am looking for recognition, or to remove the anonymity? No. I am writing to try to feel what the other person is feeling, and to feel good about helping to make their day a little better, whether they know who I am or not. I have cited examples of my own giving that are not really charity. (Cleaning out my closet and setting it out for Purple Heart of Goodwill to pick up.)
Most of my giving is to the homeless. It’s not tax deductable. It’s not for recognition. They have no idea who I am, except that I’m a person that stopped to give them something on my way to wherever I am going. And maybe I don’t “love” the people I give to because I don’t even know them. But I do feel for them, very strongly. I have been homeless, though I’ve been lucky enough to have a big family and not have to live on the street. I have been near homelessness (one paycheck from it when I was living paycheck to paycheck). When I give it’s really someone else giving to me, if I were in those same circumstances. It’s treating people the way you would want to be treated (in those same circumstances.)
Whether or not it’s charity depends on the motivation. Charity is not necessarily philanthropy. I’m less impressed by a large philanthropic foundation giving 10 million to some cause and getting a lot of press and media attention for it, than I would be if they gave 10,000 (or 1,000) anonymously, quietly, and nobody really knew it was them making the donation. (Of course, if I didn’t know about it, I wouldn’t know to be impressed, so there is a bit of a paradox there, but I think you know what I mean.)
Comments (3)
Great post! I think charity’s something we could all stand to understand a little better.
I agree 100%. You put it very well. Jesus said much the same thing when he saw the poor woman in the temple give her last two pennies, and compared her to the rich who made sure everybody knew when they gave big donations.
Great post!! The most fun is giving or doing things for people without them knowing you did it. It’s great to hear them try guessing and NOT say anything but “Oh how cool”.