Giving to charity is one of the nicest things you can do for somebody. There are many people living in the world who don’t have enough of the basic necessities required to have an adequate standard of living. People who have more than enough should give back something to society as a thank you for being lucky to be blessed with a good standard of living. When it comes to giving there are three things to be considered – money, goods and time. The easiest thing to give is money, next come the goods and finally time is the hardest one to give of all.
Giving money is simple because it doesn’t require any effort on your part. All you have to do is open your wallet and take out a dollar, five or fifty and hand it over to the person or organization that needs it. You feel good that you’ve helped out in some way.
Goods are also required when it comes to charity. Many people go without clothes, food and everyday necessities like a toothbrush and toothpaste, comfortable shoes and socks, or a kettle in their kitchen or books and pencils for school. Items that most of us have an excess supply of or can purchase cheaply when we need it.
Time is the hardest. It requires a lot of effort. We actually need to do something. It might be helping to clean the streets. Spending time with the elderly. Volunteering to teach children to read. All forms of charity that are sometimes harder to do for people than to give money and goods.
So what is more effective when donating to charities, money or goods?
When we give money to a person or organization in need we are not sure of where the money is going exactly. We don’t know what portion is going to help the needy and what portion is going to fill some greedy pocket. Goods on the other hand are more tangible and can be put to use immediately. If we see that a person is without food we can easily purchase them some basic necessities and we are almost certain that they will have food to fill their tummies, giving them money may result in spending it on other things.
Goods are definitely more effective when donating to charities. We can be more sure that the money we spend on these goods is going to go to good use and not be taken advantage of or filtered away on other things. Goods like school books, crayons and pens can help children at school. Canned food, towels, clothes can make people’s lives easier. Money on the other hand can easily be wasted. Goods are a much better form of charity.