Category Archives: Charity

Altruism

February 13, 2015 6:58 AM , Leave a Comment ,

7th grade spelling bee competition.  I get the word Altruism and misspelled it.  The proctor gives me the definition of selfless concern for the welfare of others and told me “you will never forget this word”.

Well she was right in that respect although I still maintain that I did spell it correctly.  I’ve tried living my life altruistically as possible in all aspects.  In some aspects perhaps too much in other aspects perhaps too little but overall I think I’ve done a decent job of it.

I haven’t done this in expectation of rewards.  To me this just seems the way to live my life.  Volunteering for something, donating to a charity, or even just giving a couple of bucks to some beggar on the street.  None of it really benefits me in any way yet I feel the compunction to do it.

Several years back I read up on George Price’s work on the Price equation which seem to suggest that altruism was in reality a long-term evolutionary tactic developed to insure species survival and increase the odds of reproductive success.

Interestingly enough Price himself spent the remainder of his life trying to disprove this theory by looking for examples of truly altruistic behavior.

Is it really all just an elaborate tactic that we all play?  That on some deep sub-conscious level we plot and strategize to increase the survival of the species and we try to insure our own reproductive success or improve the lot of our offspring?

Can we find that one example that turns this all into a lie?  Can you look in your life and find that one true altruistic experience?

Posted in: charity, life in general, thought

Noblesse Oblige, not just for the holidays

July 16, 2014 6:26 AM , Leave a Comment ,

Noblesse Oblige, or the nobility’s obligation.  The idea is basically that those that have more than others have an obligation to share the wealth as it were.  If you found yourself in the enviable position of having more that you have a duty to use that good fortune to improve the lot of those less fortunate.

It’s an ancient concept.  All the major religions have something similar.  The Greeks and Romans considered it part of the upper classes duty to do something for those that didn’t have enough.  The concept even extends to our modern times.  After all, any kid can quote the line from the movie Spiderman “with great power comes great responsibility.

So it’s not all that alien.  But you don’t have to be a superhero or a filthy rich millionaire to do this.  We live in the richest, most powerful country in the world.  In fact in the history of the entire planet.  We have resources, education, and access to information that was undreamed of even a couple of decades ago.  So even the poorest of us can do something to improve the life of someone else.

The holidays are a perfect time for this concept and many people do take the time to do something nice.  But it would be nice if people practiced this all year round.

I’m sure that every town in the US has a food pantry for homeless people or a shelter.  Clean out those closets and get rid of some of that old clothing that doesn’t fit any more or that you don’t like.

Twenty bucks, just scrape together 20 bucks and go to the supermarket and buy some food (and not pumpkin pie mix or canned artichokes)

Volunteer a Saturday morning or an evening at an animal shelter.  Animals need your help too.

If you live online like I do then try a crowdfunding website like Kiva or Kickstarter.

It really doesn’t take all that much to make someone’s crappy day go from bad to bearable.  And you don’t have to do it because you’re a saint or a Dudley do right that says their prayers every night and goes to bed at 8PM or a high society matron that’s trying to get a tax write off.

You can be the most irresponsible party animal in the world, you can drink and smoke with the best of them the rest of the year, but for just for a couple of hours for one day, just do this one thing.

Just do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Posted in: activities, charity, life in general

clothes sorting

March 14, 2014 6:02 AM , 2 Comments ,

So, inspired by my recent post on ensembles I decided to clean out of my closet and dresser.

I’ve lost a bit of weight and I have to supplement my clothes to tide me over till I reach what I think is going to be my stable and sustainable weight for the next few decades.

Before I spend any money on new clothes I realized that I needed to make an assessment of what I need and what I had.  I also needed to get rid of what was worn out or no longer fit.  So I cleared out my closet and my dresser and piled everything on the bed and started sorting things into piles.

In some ways it feels like I’m moving.  I suppose I am in a way.  I’m moving away from the person that I was and moving to the person that I want to be.  Just as in any move some old things have to stay behind and some new things have to be acquired.

The old stuff that isn’t too badly worn is going to charity and the rest will go into the waste bin.

Some things are easy.  Winter clothes can be bulky and oversized so they’re not hard to sort and it’s time they went into storage anyways.

Suits and sports coats.  They fit remarkably well but need a good cleaning and pressing and maybe an alteration here and there.

Shirts.  My old office clothes.  Some frayed and worn out, some oversized.  A few still useful.

Pants.  I didn’t realize how large I got.  A couple of size 46 pants.  I’m tempted to keep a pair to compare my old waist size to my new but that’s so cliche.

t-shirts.  Most of these I keep.  They’re such handy clothes.

socks.  I have way too many and most of my time is spent sorting them.  I look at two nearly identical ones and try to determine if they’re both navy blue or black.  Most of my white tube socks end up in the charity pile.

handkerchiefs.  How did I end up with so many?

Some things still have stickers and tags on them.  Most of them gifts I would guess as some of them I would never wear.

I’ve filled two giant trash bags full of charity clothes and another bag for the garbage.  My closet seems empty now but I have a good idea of what I need to buy.

I feel good about this in different ways.  I’ve cleared out some of the clutter in my living space and made room for the new.  More importantly I’ve made a clean break with the old me.  Those old oversized clothes were a sort of safety line to my old self.  As long as they existed I could lean on them; see them as a place to retreat to, even if just unconsciously.  By doing this I commit myself to a new life and don’t have any choice but to move forward.

Posted in: charity, fashion, future, goals, life in general

The giving season

December 8, 2013 8:35 PM , Leave a Comment ,

I’ve never been too big a fan of the whole gift giving thing for Christmas.  Not that I’m Scrooge mind you but individual people are hard to shop for.  Or maybe I don’t have the sense for determining what I should get for an individual.  I don’t know but in most cases it’s a chore for me.  Plus honestly I get this feeling like I’m being manipulated to buy things for people just because the retailers tell me I have to.

What I enjoy more is giving to charity groups and organizations.  The Houston food bank, Ripley house, the Houston Area Women’s Center and the star of hope shelter are local groups that I know are making a difference for people.  I feel my money makes a greater impact here than in other ways.

I also keep in mind some of my online groups that aren’t exactly charities but they do a lot of good just the same.  Groups like Wikipedia, Kickstarter, and NPR are things that I enjoy and support.

If you find that you don’t know where to put your money, charity navigator is a great place to start looking.

But really the first and best step is to decide to break the monotonous process of just going to the mall and loading up things for a small group of people.  Give to a greater pool of people this season.  You will feel so much better for it.

Posted in: charity, Christmas