Do You Do Charity?

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I've been wondering if having an ASD affects your choices when it comes to doing charity/giving to others.

personally I have one rule and I get a lot of criticism about it but I'll post it anyway (please read my explanation before you call me a heartless b***h )

I read somewhere that about 89% of my country's population gives charity to organisations that help sick/poor children, when they give at all, that is. and so, about 90% of all financial help that comes from individuals goes to those charities.

therefore my rule is- not giving my charity money to children (gasp!). I reckon they have enough as it is, and there's a load more other causes that need supporting.

as you see I have a very pragmatic attitude towards such things, so I don't give to organisations that are not complately transparent and that I can not control in some way or at least see where my money goes. that excludes most UN and big international organisations.

I also don't do give aways to Third World countries, I think it corrupts people into expecting that the help will always eventually come and takes away the motivation to work and create workplaces.

whenever I can I buy Fair Trade though- and I drink a lot of coffee, tea and eat a lot of chocolate! I always buy the FT option even though it costs me *a lot*. I have the satisfaction of giving jobs and it makes the coffee taste so much better I still get criticised for not giving a penny to "Make Poverty History" and all such give-a-bag-of-rice-for-the-starving-child kinda things, and no amount of explaining on my side ever finds any understanding.

I also give my 1% to a couple of dentists who travel to Tibetan monasteries every year to fix the teeth of the local monks and villagers. a small, highly effective project.

what about you guys? do you give to NTs at all?

btw mods, is there an option to make this poll multiple choice?

I have a direct debit set up with Oxfam, and I occasionally give them single payments. I also occasionally give money to armed forces charities.

I've recently begun questioning giving money abroad, especially as I live in a (very) deprived area for a First World country, but came to the conclusion that (even with the pound's value in free-fall) any donation was still likely to benefit a much larger number of people abroad than at home, provided it got through. I guess I trust Oxfam more than most to do that, and hopefully to carry out "teach a man to farm" work as well as "give a man a loaf of bread" work.

I do volunteer work in my community, and I love it. It gives me a lot of satisfaction.

My husband and I also give money to feed Jewish people in Ethiopia (who are the poorest of the poor there), to support Tibetan children at the Tibetan Children's Village in India, and to help a variety of peace and social justice organizations that work here and abroad. One of our favorite organizations is Madre, which helps women in Third World countries develp and retain social and economic self-sufficiency. We tend to favor organizations that help people become self-sufficient, but we also donate to programs that feed people who are starving because of drought or political strife, or dying for lack of medications and medical help. I have no problem giving money for most causes in Third World countries, because many of the problems there are a historical result of the political and economic policies of the First World.

We do not give any money in response to telephone solicitations, because a great deal of it goes to pay the fundraising organization hired to do the calling. We generally check out how much of our donation will go to administrative costs and how much will go directly to the programs and people who need it. Any reputable organization will have no problem providing this information upon request, and many already have the information on their websites.

I dropped a teddy bear into a happy Christmas box at a local store, I also give my old used clothes and some of the toys my kids don't use or want anymore (in good condition) to a local outreach place.

When people i know are ill i sometimes make a casserole and take it over.

I didn't vote, doesn't quite fit any of them...

Okay, I will give charity to help children (like Make a Wish, other for ill/orphaned children). I will also help animals. However, I will not give chairty to places that house the homeless, beggers, etc. I am a firm believer that any able bodied person should earn theiir own living. I have no pity for those who stand on street corners when they could be working.

In and out of charity shops quite a lot, but really just because they provide great value for money on second-hand goods and not because they are charities per se. Charities are business and I treat them like any other business.

I don't do charity, no charity helped me ....

I'm officially retired now so I now do charity work for local not-for-profit organizations and my husband & I donate money to not-for-profit organizations that we think benefit the community we live in.

I seem to manage social situations best in an organized environment and the charity work I do is set up by a paid staff. All I need do to participate is show up and do what they need done.

Most people who stand on a street corner proberly are working.
They probelry dressed up as a chicken trying to sell pizza or something. Not every one can get the perfect job. In my state it is very high unemployment rate. So the only job i could get is standing at the corner dressed up as a chicken and people shouldnt make fun of that. Atleast I am trying.

I hardly do charity. I have gotten rid of my clothes and took them to Goodwill. I have done toys for tots at The Dollar Tree.

I sometimes do volunteer work such as a beach clean-up, and I donate a toy for Toys for Tots. After threads here about Special Olympics, I'm planning to volunteer when it's held locally next year.

So you will not give to charities that house homeless families whose breadwinners have lost their jobs and now can't pay rent. Or the mother had to leave an abusive partner. Those lazy children can just get up and go get a job.
One in five homeless adults have mental health issues. Who will hire them? Will you?
A large portion of the homeless are veterans. Of course, PTSD, depression, permanent disabilities, substance abuse, are things that never affect veterans so they're just goofing off and love to sleep outside in the snow.

Of course able bodied people should be working. Just don't assume that they're as able as they look. Or that there's a job for them. Or that having as an address the underside of a bridge without laundry or shower facilities won't make it harder to get hired. Or that having to hide from an abusive stalker won't interfere with handing out resumes. Or that they can just dismiss the voices in their head and get down to business.

That is way too simplistic a way to look at things.

I volunteered for charities during high school and loved it!

Multnomah County Library
Red Cross
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Laughing Horse Books

And will plan to continue with PWCL or the American Lung Association.

Last edited by AnonymousAnonymous on 04 Dec 2008, 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I give to canned food drives and baby food drives. Right now, I'm baking cookies for troops that are returning from Iraq so them and their families and friends can enjoy them at parties for their homecoming. When I was in elementary school, I did something called "Mathathon" and for every math problem I did, I collected money from people who gave pledges and raised it for St. Jude's Hospital. And give to Good Will...just random things, whatever I can find to do, I'll do it.

I've made small irregular donations, and collected for causes, also a few times, I have wrapped and placed gifts under a tree in shopping mall (the gifts are given to children at Christmas, often at charity Christmas day dinners).

Most of the volunteer stuff I have done is charity performance, usually for quality of life rather than fund raising though.