Sending money to aid others

the idea is smart, but knowing human nature, the last on the list would like to be help first....

True. Everyone on the list would want to be helped right away. Have you ever wondered about this type of thing? There many questions we should ask. We do not always have the answers but we do need to ask.

The only way I know of to make this sort of idea work would be to make a list of people who need help. Then everyone helps the first person on the list. Then we would try to help the second one on the list. The first person would now be in a position to chip in and help also. Soon the second person would be able to help so we would move on to help the third person on the list. This would go on until everyone on the list has been helped. So then we would have to expand our view and make a new list of people to help. But we would be helping one person at a time. We could do something like this through our church or our community. Then we could reach out to help the next church or the next town. Yes, it would be great if people would donate a dollar to help someone else. I am just surprised that it takes a disaster for us to be inspired to help. Why don't we help each other before a disaster occurs?

Excellent response. Yes, there are many things besides money that we should be able to do to help the people in Haiti. It is terrible that nature has destroyed their community. I am sort of like you. I feel a strong desire to physically go there to lend a hand. I could rake and shovel. I could clean up areas and create a place to begin again from. That place might only be a clean area to pitch a tent but a tent is better than no shelter at all. I could cook and serve food or I could comfort a person with a hug. I could do there many of the things I do at home, in my own community. I can hammer and cut wood to build a shelter or a new building. I could float concrete for a foundation. If a tornado were to come through my neighborhood, I would help my neighbors clean up and rebuild. Barn raising parties are fun and productive.

You may be right. We get through things the best we know how. I have to sort many things out in order to be successful at anything.

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Ouch Heather what has Royal said wrong here? I think I know what you are saying, but Royal did not mean it that way I think it is just the way it has come across

There have been times in my life when I was able to help others a lot. It gave me great joy to be able to do that. Many times it did not require money at all. I provided small things like a shoulder to cry on, a cup of coffee, a box of kleenex and an ear that was listening. Sometimes my advice, guidance or ideas were helpful. And then there were the times I put gift baskets together. The church I attended gave me a list of people in my community who needed a little help. I delivered gift baskets of items that were needed for everyday use (toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, and various other essentials). I delivered baskets of food. Each one was delivered in secret so the person who was helped did not know where the gift came from. Secret gifting was fun. Confidentiality was also important as the pride of these families needed to be respected. These families needed more than money. They needed to know that their community cared about them. I have worked with others to put packages together that were sent to military personnel. I know the packages were received because I had many friends in the military and they would tell me about the packages arriving. They described the experience as being reminded that their home and loved ones cared about them. A deck of cards was as welcome as a letter from home. One of the greatest gifts I received was a 4-foot fake Christmas tree. The apartment complex I lived in at the time had a tradition of providing the tree each year to one family who could not afford a tree. I found out this tree was blessed and lucky. Each family who had it in their home found their lives improved and changed. Don't ask me how it worked but it did work. You were not allowed to keep the tree forever. You had to give the tree away at the next Christmas season. Those were the rules. When it comes to fundraising, I do think we need to question how and where the money gathered is being used. There are so many scams. We need to be careful. I am also wondering if there is more we can do to help people closer to home. If so, how? What ideas can we brainstorm here in MyLot? Then each of us can take some of those ideas out into our individual communities.

I have been in both positions. I have been the one who needed help and I have been the one providing help. I prefer to be the one giving help.

I wholeheartedly agree!