I've given up on monetary support for charities. I feel there are just too many loopholes and difficulties that I basically don't trust any of them. My sister volunteered for a small charity that helped lonely, elderly people have a proper Christmas, which on the face of it sounds kind and thoughtful. She was absolutely shocked by how the thing was run though. It was basically a bunch of egotistical wads who were using every opportunity to further their own interests, often at the cost of the charitable experience itself. That is just wrong on so many levels. So instead, I've gone back to the ol' method of offering direct help. I'd rather spend some time building a school/teaching (the classic gap year event, definitely feel it was worth it IMO) and be able to see what good my deeds are doing. Basically trading effort and not money, personal effort is harder to corrupt and IMO leads to better results. The best bit is that it works all over the place. Every so often I'll try to engage in some form of charity at home, I have enough free time to do so and that works for me. It should be about effort IMO and wanting to help. Just throwing some coins in a direction rarely has that much of an effect. Effort based charity also lends itself well to combating "guilt charity". You just do a bit when you can spare the time, or make a little event out of it if you will.
A few times per year something will get me choked and I will happily give what I can afford. Some notes on charities: Have a look at how many charities exist in the UK. Also look at how many 'linked' charities exist. Contemplate how many people draw salaries from the bank accounts. Check out how much money is sitting in bank accounts and financial investments, and not being given to the needy. Watch the Sky News channel, and marvel at all the charity adverts repeated constantly. Always check the name of a charity. There are the more famous and commonly seen charities - then you get the random ones like Water For Children Now (made it up, but you get the point). Check out those charities that spring up at times of trouble and natural disasters. You think the famous charities aren't going to be helping already?
