On my way home from the gym, I pass through an intersection that has a fire station on the corner. The other day, there were three firemen out on each median at the intersection, wearing their helmets and fireman’s pants over t-shirts. They each had a fireman’s boot and a sign with the MDA logo that said “Fill the boot for Jerry [Lewis]’s kids!” They seemed to get quite a reaction, much more so than the average homeless person standing on the median with a cardboard sign. People were honking and putting money in the boots left and right (get it? they had left boots and right boots, ha!). Maybe it was the tight t-shirts?
They were out again today, and I thought I could probably spare a dollar. The only problem: no small bills in my wallet. The fireman that approached me noticed that I was rifling through the receipts looking for something donate-able and said don’t worry about it, if you’ve got some change in there, that’s enough to help. So I dumped a palmful of change in the boot and got a nifty sticker, which made me feel like I’d done my good deed for the day.
Muscular dystrophy research is not something I would typically donate to. I’d more likely give to cancer or heart disease, and I donate used items I no longer want to an organization that provides support to battered women. But apparently a few firemen can sway my giving trends, at least for a few cents. What kind of charitable organizations do you support? What kind of thing would tempt to you expand your giving horizons?
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Responding to your question will reveal just how uncharitable I am. I am almost daily approached by volunteers on the street from either Equality California or the ACLU. “Do you have 45 seconds for gay/women’s/human rights?” Instinctively I respond, “No, not right now,” and blow past in a hurry. But once or twice I did stop to let them say their spiel (mostly out of guilt for lying all those times when I did have 45 seconds and said I didn’t). I’m open to signing stuff, and their 45 second spiel inevitably goes on 5 minutes or more, always ending with “we need people like you to be monthly donors.” That’s where I just get turned off and say no and leave. So I don’t give to anyone, but think maybe I should find a charity I support, donate, and then whenever I’m asked again I can respond honestly “I’ve already done my charitable giving.” I must follow through on this thought…
Generally speaking, I don’t like my day interrupted by people asking for money, like the people that accost you on the street, Michael. What on earth makes them think that I am going to decide right there, on the spot, that I’m going to make a donation every month? It makes much more sense to take your time and do your research to make sure you are giving to reputable organizations. So, you could adopt mom’s strategy of “I don’t give over the phone” to something like “I don’t give on the street.” If they want to give you a pamphlet and you are inclined to look into it further, you might consider it later.