Charities

Besides my donations to Big Brother Big Sister (every time they send out the yellow card I set something out--it's my favorite way to declutter), I have a few charities I give something to every year. Every month a donation to WBUR is charged to my Amex. Breaking a larger amount up over the course of a year really helps. I have to admit that contributing to WBUR probably wouldn't have been my first choice, as I only listen to it in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work--I simply caved in under the fundraising pressure.

Besides that, J and I are Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery. We also donate to Bat World and occasionally to Bat Conservation International. (I like bats.) After Katrina, I sent a donation to one of the Humane Societies in the area that was finding itself inundated with stray animals. Given my choice of charities, one might assume that I hold the lives of animals in higher regard than my fellow humans--that is, unless they're dead. That's not necessarily true; I just figure the "people charities" do much better than the charities for animals, so I feel like my dollars make a little more of a difference when I donate to the animal charities.

I actually don't donate all that much money when our household income is taken into account. I used to feel guilty about it, but I no longer do, since we've not yet met our own not unreasonable financial goals. When I was first reading PF blogs, I came across something about charity donations that has stuck with me. I've forgotten who wrote it--I think it was a woman, though--and it drives me nuts that I can't remember. Anyway, the writer compared charity donations to the emergency instructions one receives on an airplane. Do you know how you're always instructed to put your mask on first, and only then should you attempt to assist others? I often think of that statement when I feel guilty for not giving "enough," especially when I'm asked to donate to charities that I'm either not interested in, or would rather not donate to.

If the author I mention above is reading this, or if anyone else knows who wrote it, please let me know!