Goodwill

Last night as I was unpacking from my two week hiatus from Grand Falls-Windsor, I rummaged through my closet and drawers and found a lot of old clothing that I no longer wear, and Megan advised me that I could donate it to the Thrift Store here, which I did not know existed in GFW despite driving by it every day on my way home from work.

So I packed up all the old clothes I didn't want anymore and gave it to them to sell and make some money, and I realized that they do not give you any recognition for it. And that is fine. I do no want/expect to be recognized for donating things that are headed for the trash anyway, but the fact that the thought even crossed my mind really makes me admire those who make large donations and wish to remain anonymous.

A lot of people or corporations make donations because they can regain the cost through tax write offs and it also provides a lot of goodwill for their company in addition to the goodwill they are providing to the charity. You'll often see big donations with recognition given to the sponsors, and while it is great that they are donating to charity, it really takes away from the generosity aspect because they are getting something in return. The true generous people are those who make donations and do it anonymously, getting nothing in return except that satisfaction that they are helping those who are less fortunate.

Now I have heard the argument before that people want to remain anonymous to avoid other charities knocking at their doors soliciting donations for every cause you can think of because they know this person/company has given generous donations in the past, but I don't really buy into that. Charities are going to solicit donations from everywhere possible so there is no avoiding that, especially if you are a company or known to be wealthy.

In summary, I think it is great when any person or company makes a donation of any kind (money, volunteer time, etc.) to a charity or persons in need, but I truly admire those people who do it and refuse to get recognition for it. Personally I do not know if I'd be able to do that. Imagine donating $1,000,000 to the Janeway and then just not telling people you did it. That's tough to do as most of us long for recognition and acceptance. But apparently people do it, so my hats off to them. (Note: I'm not actually wearing a hat)

Kudos.

Download:
Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers