Charity begins at home. Screw donating to some cause that doesn’t affect you at all. Donate to the charity of YOU and your community instead.
The best charity isn’t donating cash to some cause you got pressured or guilt-tripped into doing. It’s investing and bettering yourself, your family, your friends, your home, your community. Stuff that affects you.
A natural disaster somewhere or disease-stricken people, as unfortunate as it is, doesn’t affect you at all.
Unless you’re Bill Gates, your monetary donation doesn’t help the world as much as providing your unique and useful value. The more you donate to the charity of YOU, the more and better value you can keep providing to the world.
A Haiti Earthquake Has Nothing to Do with Me
People can tell me all the boo-hoo or shocking stories they want; I couldn’t care less about some starving kids in Africa or no access to clean water in India or a hurricane or earthquake or whatever.
Those things have nothing to do with me. They don’t affect me, so why should I bother myself with it?
Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not trying to be heartless or cold to my fellow human beings. I just can’t sympathize with every single sob story I hear.
Otherwise, I would be emotionally drained and couldn’t physically and psychologically live my own life, help those around me, and immerse myself in doing great things. Things that will ultimately benefit the world more.
I’ll rise up and donate my time and energy to an emergency that affects me. Otherwise, I’ll leave it to those that the latest disaster affects – and I’ll spend my time and energy investing in myself, my community, and the things that affect me instead.
The “Should You Donate” Checklist
Should you donate to the latest “let’s unite as people and help poor country X” charity? Only if you can answer ‘yes’ to one of these:
- You actually cared about the place prior to the disaster
- The disaster affects you in some way (business or personal wise)
You should only donate or help if you can answer ‘yes’ to one of the above.
Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing – the disaster or cause doesn’t affect you. The people who it does affect will take care of it.
It’ll be your turn to donate or volunteer when something that actually affects you needs help.
“But what about the people of country X? Or community Y? They need our help!” In most cases, people can take care of themselves. So while you’re bringing your charity to your home, they are to theirs.
When everyone invests in themselves and their own community, it’s done more passionately (since it actually affects them), and the whole world is taken care of.
Charity Begins at Home
I came across a thoughtful article by Tiffany Thompson where she raised the question of whether it was worth it donating to Haiti (after she’d already donated). While watching the Haiti relief news, Tiffany’s husband said:
“It’s really nice that people want to give to Haiti, but what about all the people in this country that need help? Where the hell do they get all this money from? $150 million? I thought there was no money for healthcare? No money for social programs?”
Tiffany nodded and added:
“What would happen if the government pledged $100 million, private citizens gave their talents for donations, and celebrities raised $50 million in one day for the needs of ordinary Americans who were hurting?”
Unless you live in Haiti, your family is from Haiti, or you have some other personal or business relationship with Haiti, did you really need to be donating to Haiti? No.
So wouldn’t your money be better spent back home? The things that directly affect you and your community? Of course.
Charity begins at home. Invest in yourself and your community. Make more and better stuff that ultimately benefits the world more.
Be your own favorite charity.
