Give Till It Hurts
Asking for donations is the life-blood of most charity organizations–but when is enough enough?
I mean really.
You donate a meager pittance of your fortune, and the next thing you know, you are inundated with requests from other charities asking you to donate to their cause.
Preservation of this…Conservation of that…Juvenile Psoriasis…Endowment for Fallen Arches…Receding Polar Ice Caps…Melting Hairlines (or maybe the other way around!)…I wanna “make a wish”…I wish they would go away!
They need to make their pledge, I understand. But they are barking up the wrong tree–I’ve got no more to give!
Each year, I donate to the area homeless shelter as well as the MS Society.
Two very worthy groups.
And then, like clockwork, I receive something in the mail each week from both asking for Mo money.
It’s like, if I give any more to the MS Society, I’ll need to move into the homeless shelter!
Fundraising Events
When you think of charity events, the first one to come to your mind is the MDA Telethon.
Awesome cause.
Jerry Lewis has the corner market on Labor Day; the TV coverage…the celebs…local involvement… and the greasy hair. (Personally, as a kid I always despised the MDA Telethon because the new school year began the following day!
Today, there are so many cool fundraising efforts…the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Livestrong, Relay For Life, the American Heart Association, even my old favorite, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Drive. (My head is still ringing from those damm bells!)
The MS Society clocks in with a couple great drives including Walk MS happening soon and Bike MS later this summer.
They’ve come a long way from many years ago when the big MS fundraiser was the…..”Ugly Bartender” campaign.
I’m sorry but that sounds like a p.r. nightmare!
The MDA Telethon would raise something like 50 million dollars…while the “Ugly Bartender” contest would bring in 37 dollars & 50 cents. Plus three Heineken bottle caps!
So Many Hands–So Few Dollars
With everyone asking for our dough, the best any of us can do is choose a cause or two or three (something near & dear to your heart) and give what you can.
How do you make your charitable choices?
Give me your best comment—and give till it hurts.
2 Replies to “Give Till It Hurts”
A sugestion if I may. I do a simialar thing to you. I give to the ms society and to a local charity which helps the working poor in our community. I would have to give up food or medication if I were to give more money. I do have time though. Last Sunday I spoke about ms at a concert that was given at a local church collecting for ms. I volunteer at the ms walk (I will be at the registration table). I also collect pledges and do the shorter of the courses. (I do the walk in my wheelchair). I help pass out things at the ms150 bike tour. I take a turn at the ms booth during state fair time. Sorry, no joke this time, I’m begging for your time.
I’ve really only sent money to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital–I figure that a toddler suffering with cancer trumps just about everything and everybody else. My cold, dead carcass will be my big donation to MS research.