Did that get your attention? Well all I ask is for your time to explain why I believe it.
To this point, I have spent the majority of my working life working and volunteering for charities. I believe in the spirit of charity and giving. For me, giving is a very personal thing, done respectfully, in the understanding of a need, done with purpose and joy and where possible, sustainably.
It seems to me that in the last 20 years the very nature of giving has changed for many people in so many ways. We have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to telethons and charitable events that tickle our fancy and entertain us, or tug our heart strings with sad music and images, ultimately, so that we will open our wallets and give cash. We have become used to massive charitable brands that we associate with goodness and a sense of wellbeing, Children in Need, LiveAid, Comic Relief. All cleverly designed to winkle out another £10 from your hard pressed wallet.
Tonight on X-Factor, which should tell you all you need to know, you will be subject to the world premiere of the new Band Aid 30 song. A rehash of a rehashed single from the 1980’s hastily thrown together by a bunch of millionaire musicians who have ‘donated their time for free’ to get you to raise more cash for the fight against Ebola. Well that is a good cause, but here’s my rub. If it is cash that is needed to combat Ebola then here are some stats that might make you think again about letting yourself be manipulated into downloading the new single, especially if you have already given. Here are just 6 artists featuring on the new single and their total estimated worth. One Direction - £70m; Rita Ora - £1.3m; Paloma Faith - 1.9m; Olly Murs - £3.2m; Emilie Sandi - £5m and to top it all U2 worth an estimated £535m. Here they stand before you, worth over 600 million pounds between them asking you to give cash to save the poor people of Africa. You know what, do one. I am sick and tired of the arguments justifying the percentages of their wealth that rich people give each year. We live in a time of austerity and ultimately £1 is £1. If you still have over 1,000,000 of those pounds and you’re asking people who have no, or very little, savings to give, then you’re a hypocrite. If it is cash that will save Africa, then between them, these guys, and the others on the track, could do it; tomorrow.
The thing is, the British public has already donated over £5,000,000 to the fight against Ebola, we have sent medical resources worth more than that, and some of our brave troops and medics are over there right now fighting it. The British public - YOU - already donated over £35million to Children in Need this weekend.
I am not saying don’t give. I’m saying give in a responsible way to a charity that you think is meeting a need you believe in, in a way you believe is right. Be empowered, the money that comic relief raises, is the money you raise. Take back the initiative from celebrity / popularist culture.. Use your cash wisely, don’t be conned into giving by being made to laugh or cry by millionaires and soap stars, it demeans and patronises you as a person and despite what they may try to make you think, charities don’t just need cash, they need you too.
Give from your head and your heart, charities need your time and a relationship. Charity usually works best small and local. Instead of giving once or twice a year to these behemoth charity brands (who then distribute your money through a wasteful bidding process and with targets that tie up time and resources - Pt2) and give regularly to a locally based charity undertaking work you care about. A youth or community agency, a library, a charity in a different community abroad that works in a way you believe in. Get to know the people and I guarantee your giving will mean more to you, even if it’s only a couple of pounds a month.
So go and give, but be involved, Don’t fall for the myth that money alone is the cure. Money is always needed, but you are too. Don't let the rich make you feel guilty about giving, they have their own issues to deal with. You are of worth, when you can, give, but get out and get involved.
1 comment:
Thanks for that nick. You got my attention :)
“So go and give, but be involved, Don’t fall for the myth that money alone is the cure. Money is always needed, but you are too. Don't let the rich make you feel guilty about giving, they have their own issues to deal with. You are of worth, when you can, give, but get out and get involved.”
This is good. The more I think about it, the more I like it.
One off donations on their own are not a long-term fix. We should rethink how we do giving and how we do society. The trouble is I guess, is that we have this particular catastrophe to deal with right now. The volunteers in West Africa are shouting “not enough is being done” and the band aid cash-raising is an attempt to help. Flawed as it undoubtedly is, I think it probably will help. So I wouldn’t want to discourage the average uk citizen from giving to this cause or buying this single. Certainly not one of the millions of people who can afford iphones/ipads etc, yet would not ordinarily think of giving. And certainly not the average x factor viewer who finds enough spare cash to make Simon and Co millions from phone voting.
It is somehow wrong that millionaires are the ones asking for money but isn’t the end product worth it?
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