Philanthrophy – Why Am I Feeling Guilty?
Contributed By - Babu Raman K
Hello friends! We are all together in this. We share everything, happiness and joy, sadness and sorrow. Today I wanted to share my guilty feelings with you. It’s a different stroke of thought today. As you all know I am a straight shooter all the time, sometimes I shoot from the hip and land in soup. But for a genuine cause, yes, I take my chances.
I have to confess, I am really feeling very guilty, because I did not contribute to the last GoFundme request that I received. I wanted to, but I could not. There were various reasons. I had already contributed to three other crowdfunding activities this month. My budget is already overstretched. Very genuine causes. The other reason was the extent of outreach. Another reason was the reasonableness of the cause.
Like a lot of you friends out there, I am a weakling, the emotional kind, I shed tears when I see the cause of a dead body waiting to be given a proper send off. I can co relate to the helplessness. I have gone through it. I jump in for such causes head on, financially, physically, emotional, infrastructure support, whatever I can do.
In a society where we live, social support system is a great pillar for the society to function. All scriptures and religions advise us to give. I strongly believe in causes and definitely believe in the true happiness of giving.
But when it stretches the limits it starts knocking on the door of my faith and belief.
People have started setting up crowd funding accounts on the fly. I wonder if there are people out there who feel the same. Somebody created a crowd funding account to collect $300k for the treatment of some very serious diseases of a patient back in India. Almost like two crores in Indian Currency. I wonder if the goals were achieved. Another cause had set up a goal and when the goal was achieved, they raised the goal to double the original.
You can ask why does it bother you. You can just ignore it, right? As a torch bearer for serving the community, I worry for the genuine people who really need help. If our beliefs and trust is eroded, I think the real causes will be at a disadvantage.
I am happy to say that I am a part of the community here in Phoenix, who are such a dynamic group. I had seen and experienced the sense of belongingness and magnanimity of our community here, our leaders here have always stepped forward and go way beyond means to help others. I am proud to be a part of the Phoenix community. We all take our social responsibilities seriously.
I really wish the crowdfunding organizations do not deduct a big percentage of fees from the funds collected for a genuine cause. Also do not ‘request’ for a tip above the amount donated. It makes me feel bad if I don’t give the tip.
But above all, I sincerely sincerely request to the HR departments and the top management of companies, like Infosys, TCS, Accenture, Cognizant and a bunch of others, please join hands with the community leaders, in helping for unforeseen circumstances of your teams as well as other people of your community in Phoenix.
For one by way of community outreach programs, make proactive preparations. I understand from friends of our community who are in the Insurance fields like Arushi and Radhika, that we can get group/individual insurance policies for low premiums, as low as 15 to 20 dollars a month or less.
We also have to impress upon the importance of making living wills. From having seen the problems first hand, this will avoid a lot of complications down the line. I carry a copy of mine in my car, helps the first responders to identify me as well as be aware of my DNR status, just in case.
Most importantly take care of your health. Live healthy, you will be doing a favor to your family, your kids. I agree with my friends like Shyam, Venkat, Satish and few others, who have made me realize the importance of acting now. Definitely I am grateful to all the good people, whom I am surrounded with.
I know I have touched a raw nerve, can I still expect you to love me more today than what you did yesterday? I blame it on the raw patch of weak moments.