Giving is an in thing these days.
With philanthropist billionaires like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates pledging to give simply unfathomable chunks of their fortunes to aid humanity’s advancement, the rest of humanity can take this opportunity to join in – one donation at a time – and work together to do something.
What that something is exactly, I’m not sure. I’ll leave that up to the next person with a billion dollar idea.
I’ve covered many stories over the past month of people giving, many of them children, and it made me really question why I have never committed to the act of giving.
As I grow older and more financially stable, I find myself caught in a dichotomy.
I want to give back to the world, but that feeling is quickly followed by an increased distrust accumulated by that very same age that brought me to this point.
I’ve become lost and I’m not alone in feeling this way.
A simple Google search shows the public has varying opinions about trust when it comes to charities.
There seem to be people like me who are curious and research more to know they are making a wise choice, yet somehow use that as an excuse to put off giving to the point that we simply never do.
There are also extreme positions that go as far as to say charities are run by the Illuminati and we are all, in fact, funding a New World Order.
The Internet is a fun place.
Looking at an arguably more reputable source, the Financial Post released its second annual Charities of the Year report card on Dec. 10 ranking the most reputable charities receiving more than $1 million.
The fact this list exists affirms I am not the only one both curious and weary about charities.
Because marketing works, my mind automatically goes to the charities advertised to me on my television, at malls and even on my doorstep.
I worked telecommunication sales for six years and I’ve experienced those charities sold to me in the same way I sold people cell phones, with nothing but dollar signs and monthly numbers on my mind, which is a very sour feeling when dealing with good acts and the likes.
My schools never did community-wide charity engagement like the schools in Airdrie do time and time again throughout the year.
It’s inspiring because something that has seemed so difficult for me for so long for no tangible reason is just second nature to an eight-year-old.
I have hope in a generation of givers, where billionaires are not admired because they gave so much, but rather because they gave what they could just like anyone can.
