did anyone spend there pressie money this year on the most important thing this chrimbo... charity?
my daughter got half her usual gifts and still felt spoilt
Which charity exactly is the most important thing this year? Children's charities, water charities for Africa, cancer research, which of the thousands of causes is the most important thing?
No, I didn't give to charity. I spent fairly small amounts on friends and family, making half of my gifts by hand, and the rest of the money went to keeping me alive and still able to get to work.
Congratulations on having such a conscientious daughter, I'm afraid that while I do believe in charity, being able to afford it is a different matter if I want to maintain a reasonable quality of life.
Ninjabellydance, nice avatar. Its always good to put a face to a name....
I take my boys shopping for each other and they always buy one extra gift for a charity. Not any specific one, but we tend to mix it around. I donate so much each pay period also. Its not a lot, but I hope it makes a difference somewhere for someone.
Each and every Christmas our family adopts another family through our church as part of the "umbrella program" ... ( http://www.bghealth.org/umbrella_domestic_violence_services.htm ) ... so each one of us choose a member of the family to purchase an Xmas gift for.
All we have is the age and sex of the child and usually just the mother (domestic violence situation) and a brief description of what they would like from "Santa". We usually go above and beyond.
I'm with Yoda on the "worthless" gifts answer. Alot of thought goes into each and every gift I give .... it is by no means a measure of my love but I've always been more excited in giving rather than in the receiving!
I give to animal welfare. This December we adopted a lurcher, our second. The first was from the Blue Cross and this one was from the RSPCA. He's had a tough life and deserves some fun and love.
I would NEVER criticise anyone who helps others in any way. We all have the right to choose who and how we help. What makes you able to decide on which beings are the more deserving? Unless you believe the Biblical rubbish about humans having a worth above all other beings, of course. Still, we're doing a fine job exterminating every other species on the planet, so we won't have that problem soon.
Humans have Bob Geldof - what more could they want?
Seriously, with obvious sad exceptions, they are rarely abused as much as animals, tortured for medical research, caged and cruelly butchered for food - even in the West. I applaud all of you who give to help humans - give NOW to help those affected by the Tsunami. But dont' denigrate those who help animals too.
As a Buddhist I regard all sentient beings as equal, except of course Bush and Blair who are obviously in a lower realm.
Its a shame that humans are starving, don't have clean water to drink, no electricity etc yet people still feel the need to help animals when they could help humans! It makes me really sick to see humans leaving wills-their property, riches etc to their 12 cats or such like!
I understand the sentiment, having worked in several of the areas now suffering from the tsunami but I don't regard helping animals as incompatible with helping humans.
Can't you do both? Are you really saying that because we send money to Ethiopia we should ignore an injured dog at the roadside?
We are all free to help any living being and I'm in favour of praising all those who do, not carping about those who have different priorities from your own. After all, poverty and pain will always be with us unless we conquer all disease and disaster.
There are enough people out there who do nothing to help anyone without beating up those who try.
If you help both humans and animals then i salute you brother!
However, there are far too many "animal lovers" out there...particularly in the western world that seem to prioritize animals over humans which i think is grosely misguided....wouldn't you agree?
I'm a Buddhist so I try not to prioritise one life over another - but as I'm not perfect, of course I put my own species first, family first etc.
All suffering is an obscenity which we should try to eradicate and I truly beieve that most of the world's poverty and suffering is permitted or caused by western powers who could do far more to resolve it. Sadly, politics and power win over compassion too often in this degenerate age. Who elected these idiots? Bob Geldof for President, I say!
Just because someone is an animal lover doesn't mean they don't value humans. The problem is, animals don't have a voice so someone needs to fight for them. There is nothing wrong in helping organisations like the RSPCA to do so.
I know that not everyone believes animals are on the same level as humans but why should you have a go at anyone who helps? If anything, have a go at the people who do nothing.
On the subject of animal rights, who are you to say that your rights are more important than that of an African elephant for example? Because you're a human? What if you were a dog, then what would you be saying (if you could)?
I actually work for a mental health charity but unlike all you people who are obviously better people than me I do not give to a charity at anytime of the year, as most of what you give goes towards admin, believe me it's true, mind you I do give to charity shops!
Yes, it is true, mainly because only about 10% or less of a charities income comes from civil donations or collection, the other 90% is provided generally by the government and they are not permitted to spend it on administration. Having all the money in the world is great, but its kinda useless if there's no one to organise getting the aid to the people who need it. Administration is a necessary evil I'm afraid.