by Reegan Howles
Whilst this statement may seem completely contradictory to the beliefs of RaG, this post is about my personal views towards working with charities and attempting to justify this seemingly abhorrent statement. I, for one, have never done charity work in order to directly give money to the charities I’ve supported, and I imagine I’m not alone. Of course, raising money for a charity is a good way of substantiating your efforts, but in this post, I hope to talk about why I have done charity work as a student, and why I think it’s okay to be motivated by things other than philanthropy.
So, you’re a student, and if you’re anything like me, that means you’re constantly scraping the bottom of the financial barrel for funds, eating spaghetti hoops whilst wrapped in blankets to save money on heating. Meanwhile, corporations like Google are unveiling plans to spend £1 billion on 330m long, 11-storey buildings in London to house 4,000 employees. It hardly seems fair that companies like Google can thrive to this extent when you consider that local charities like Catching Lives need only around £1000 to run a kitchen and feed Canterbury’s homeless people for 2 months.
For me, therefore, doing charity work isn’t about asking other equally poor students and friends to donate to your cause. It’s about raising awareness for the charities, spreading word of the great work they do, and trying to create a domino effect. Maybe with this, you can create a longer lasting impact on people and businesses. Hopefully, your passion and drive should encourage friends and family to do charity work of their own, or maybe give money more regularly to charity when they are in a more financially stable position to do so.
It made you feel good so that makes it selfish. Look, there are no unselfish good deeds. Sorry. - Joey Tribbiani
Whilst Joey may not embody intelligence in the conventional sense, he may have a point here. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing to be ashamed of! If making others feel good or live a better life by supporting a charity in turn makes you feel happy then it’s a win-win. Alongside charity work being rewarding for all parties involved, participating in a physical challenge for charity can teach you a new skill or give you the motivation to train hard and improve your fitness. For me, the London to Paris cycle gave me a training goal and compelled me to cycle in and around Canterbury to make sure I would be able to complete the challenge. I could feel the improvements in my physical health and without the ‘threat’ of the cycle, I probably wouldn’t have cycled anywhere.
Okay, so I guess my point is not that you shouldn’t raise money for charity, I just think there are other ways to help others (and yourself) which are often overlooked. Instead of raising money and never seeing where that money ends up, perhaps people should work directly with smaller charities and see the fruits of their labour first-hand. The amount of money you raise can mean more to some charities than others, so make sure you question where and how your money will be spent, before you blindly volunteer hours of your time supporting the cause.
Perhaps the main reason I joined Kent RaG is to meet and make friends with the like-minded people that the society naturally entices. I’m in my 3rd year now and I can safely say that Kent RaG is one of the most welcoming and friendly societies out there. Even if you can’t commit to a challenge, you know that just by paying membership, helping out at RaG events or standing outside essentials raising awareness to passers-by, you are assisting in making our society that little bit better!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Kent RaG or any of its affiliates.
Photos form Breast Cancer Now - Students "London to Paris 2017 Trip 1" album!
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