Mastering The Art Of Giving

Throughout history, the art of giving something to a greater cause has been fundamental to most societies. Funding charitable efforts with time or money show a great deal of social evolution. And, the Jewish faith has one of the oldest documented examples of this. Within the faith, a tradition called Tzedakah has existed for hundreds of years. And, it’s a very important thing for Jews. Following this rule, they are expected to give away at least one-tenth of their income, after tax. This is a great deal of money for some people; but, they still give it. This money goes to help parts of the community which can’t get by on their own. And, can be seen as a sort of social tax.

Image Source

Of course, though, a tax like this doesn’t exist as a rule in most societies. Instead, people are expected to make their own mind up about charity and giving. Under this sort of system, most causes don’t get enough to support their needs. And, they need some help. As a member of society; it’s your duty to lend a hand here. The whole point of civilisation is to help the species as a whole. We have to work together and overcome issues as a group. And, this means that people can’t be left behind simply because their issues don’t affect you. Some people can’t give money. But, they can usually give something else. To help you out with this, this post will be setting out to inspire you to put more effort into giving something back. Every little helps; so, you don’t have to do much to make a difference.

Charity​
Most charities rely on volunteers to get a lot of their work done. Unfortunately, most non-profit organisations don’t have the resources to employ their workers. And, instead, they will ask people to give time for free. If you work a job with few hours or have weekends off; spending your time volunteering can be even more valuable than a donation. This way, you will have a direct impact on the work the organisation does. And, you’ll get the satisfaction of working for a good cause. This sort of contribution is completely free, it doesn’t have to be done every week, and it’s extremely flexible. So, it’s worth giving it a shot.
 
Of course, a lot of people don’t have time for volunteering, though. Or, you may not want to spend your free time doing additional work. And, this is completely reasonable; it doesn’t make you a bad person. You have some other ways to lend a hand, though. Chief among these options is making simple donations. A lot of people worry about this sort of effort, thinking their money will go to waste. But, in most cases, charities are very efficient with their money. For example, the UK charity Oxfam spends over 80% of its donations on the causes that matter. And, doesn’t waste huge amounts on paying employees.
 
The last option for those who want to support a charity directly is a combination of the two options above. Fundraising is essential to a lot of charities. When members go out and raise money through events, challenges, and activities, it can help a charity to no end. In most cases, you’ll have to do this under your own steam. But, once you have some fundraising ideas, it will be nice and easy to get the ball rolling. Getting other people to help you out with this will be a must. And, you might need to get some help with ideas, too. Bake sales and feats of strength are great ways to make money this way.

Image Credit

Social support
In modern times, it seems as though the world is going through a stage of right-wing dominance. Of course, depending on your views, this may or may not be an issue for you. But, one this is for certain; social care will take a big hit worldwide. And, this just makes it more and more important that people start getting out there and performing their own work in this field. There are no doubt members of your community in need of social care; so, it’s time to find ways to provide it.
 
A lot of the elderly folks in the world don’t have many people around them. It’s likely that a lot of their friends have passed. And, some people simply don’t have any family around them. This can make life incredibly dull, leading to depression in a lot of the older community. But, there is work you can do to make this just a little bit better. You will find organisations dedicated to helping elderly people connect with people for simple activities like tea parties and meals at restaurants. By providing this to people, you give them the chance to enjoy things they may not have experienced for years. You enable someone with not much left in life to experience something they may have stopped even fantasizing about. This sort of role is critical to people in this position. So, it’s worth helping where you can.
 
It’s also very likely that you have a large population of young people in your community who need support, too. Usually, young people need social support for different reasons than the elderly. For instance, you often find that young people lack the skills they need to perform basic tasks in life because their parents didn’t do a great job. In this sort of case, the youth in question may need some support in writing CVs or paying their bills on time. Organisations like the YMCA dedicate themselves to helping people in this situation. And, they are more than happy to take on volunteers.

Image Source

A bigger effort
For some, the work above won’t be quite enough. Some people will want to give a much larger part of themselves to their cause. And, this is great. But, you need to find a good outlet to use this drive effectively. Otherwise, you could be wasting your precious time. To help you out, below you will find two options for those who want to make giving into their life.
 
Activism is great. It helps to make loads of change around the world; and, it usually doesn’t cost you anything. But, to be a good activist; you have to pick a cause worth fighting for. For example, a lot of people create groups simply to rebel against their government. But, often, these sorts of groups aren’t very productive. Instead, it’s better to have a singular focus. Organisations fighting for the environment or animal rights tend to have much more success than more open groups. So, it’s worth having a look around to find a cause you can get behind.
 
Business owners are in a great position here. And, those that have a useful skill are, too. In this position, you have something that a charity will likely need; services. For example, a lot of web designers will make a website for a non-profit as part of their work each year. This is done as a donation. And, it is a great way to give something back. To do this, you just need to find some local charities with needs for the services you can offer. Then, when you do the work, you can either give it to them for free or at a massively reduced price.
 
Hopefully, this post will be enough to inspire you to start leading as life based on giving. In reality, the whole world needs to adopt this sort of mentality; if humans are going to get further as a species. But, there is still plenty of time for this change to occur. And, you make up for a big piece of the puzzle.

---

By Iconic Chica Contributors