Why don’t we just give money to the charities we like instead of participating in fun runs/walks and other activities that we would normally avoid? Would it not be easier for the charity concerned, and for the participants – dare we say runners – to just simply hand over the R10 or R20 requested?
Why don’t we just give money to the charities we like instead of participating in fun runs/walks and other activities that we would normally avoid? Would it not be easier for the charity concerned, and for the participants – dare we say runners – to just simply hand over the R10 or R20 requested?
We are now quick-stepping into the fun run season when almost every week there will be at least one such event held with the aim of raising funds for a worthy cause.
One can almost imagine a generic NGO meeting where everyone sits around a table wondering how the organisation is going to continue its precarious existence. Then suddenly, one of the members has a brainwave: “I know, let’s have a fun run”. We could all get really fit by actively taking part in these events, even as our bank balances shrink.
The point is that of course many people do give donations, and sometimes large donations to their favourite charities. Many of them hold street collections where their members pleadingly jangle money boxes in front of you, requesting a few coins as you enter the local supermarket. You pop in a coin or two of guilt money, get your sticker to show that you are good person and then you go about your daily business. That was easy enough, wasn’t it?
As useful as street collections are, they don’t really lend themselves to truly identifying with a cause in the same way that running or walking five kilometres will. If, for example, you take part in the Gandhi walk this Saturday you are requested to contribute a minimum donation of R10 – you can give more. This will make you feel wonderful because you have committed some cash, and you have also committed the sweat off your brow for a cause closely identified with Mahatma Gandhi. That is so much more gratifying.
This year the Grahamstown Hindu Seva Samaj will donate the proceeds of their fun run/walk to Gadra Education, a truly worthy cause.
The best part of such an event is not only the knowledge that you are doing it for a good cause, but also that you will be running, or walking, in good company. The camaraderie generated by one of the most hospitable communities in Grahamstown is hard to beat.
Let’s hope for some better weather so that the fun run season can really take off
