"For it is in giving that we receive" --Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis is a favorite of my dad's--my parents were at one time considering purchasing a statue of him to put in their yard (and they're not really yard-statue folks).  He's had something of a resurgence in the general consciousness lately, as December (holidays, end-of-year) is traditionally a time when people donate their money or time to those in need.


"I am lucky, lucky, lucky," says Betty Londergan in Catherine Newman's article about charitable giving in the December issue of Whole Living magazine.  Londergan gives 'til it hurts--she's given away $100 a day for the entirety of 2010, for a total of $36,500 on December 31.  She gives to all kinds of charities and organizations--those that help kids, schools, farms, small businesses, people who are ill, all over the world and here in the United States.  I feel lucky, lucky, lucky too, I am bowled over at times by how fortunate I am, even as I skip buying fresh vegetables in favor of frozen (cheaper) and re-use plastic baggies and return bottles to the liquor store so I can use the $1.20 I get back to buy more beer.  I mean, frozen broccoli and plastic baggies and BEER?  How lucky am I?  More fortunate, better off, than most of the people alive in the world right now.

I've been carefully buying gifts for my family and friends and for the kids whom I babysit for Hanukkah and Christmas and birthdays for about two months now, making sure I still have enough money for groceries and car insurance and rent and all those other necessities that, if I fail to pay for, would require ME to ask for monetary help (which, though I could get, wouldn't be a good use of charitable dollars.).  My boyfriend and I are giving some family members a donation to my friend Tim's organization, Awesome Army, which helps Tim and others suffering with ALS, but we're not really giving 'til it hurts (see BEER, above).  When so many people need stuff--heat, warm clothes, medicine, plumbing, education, toys, dignity--how are we to decide where to send our dollars?  BE PICKY.  You probably can't give 29 million dollars to help eradicate malaria (just the idea that 29 million dollars is a drop in the hat in that fight is depressing), so maybe finding something that is smaller and more focused, where you know what your donation will purchase, is a nice option.  Be choosy, and give something.  You'll feel better.