Charity - What's the Point?? - Coaching Derby

….So why can’t we just feed everyone? There’s enough food in the world, right?

Tuesday September 5^th is the United Nations’ International Day of Charity.

Why have a day of charity? Surely it should be something that people think about and aim to contribute to daily – and in fact, a lot of us do! But hopefully, especially if you’ve been paying attention to the “Give” elements of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing I shared recently, you know that charitable acts have a much wider impact to the giver as well as the recipient. Charity provides social bonding on a much wider scale. It can supplement public services – for example donating to a local charity that supports people in your area with a particular condition or in certain circumstances, or it can be a national charity such as supporting many in the UK who live with diseases or conditions, or even on an international scale such as red cross or donating to specific causes like war victims or famine torn countries.

So why 5^th September? Well it commemorates the passing of Mother Teresa, who won the Nobel Peace prize in 1976 for her charity work. She passed away in 1997.

The United Nations believes that eradicating global poverty is the greatest challenge we face.

International charity day serves to increase and enhance social responsibility across the entire world. And there are several international, national and local charities that have this goal too.

International charity Action Against Hunger points out that hunger isn’t about lack of food, there are so many factors that contribute to it such as conflict, malnutrition, gender inequality, food insecurity and mental health. This list isn’t exhaustive but their website is very informative about how these factors affect more than what appears on the surface, and are the areas that need tackling rather than physically feeding people.

In the UK, Trussel Trust are not only a national foodbank charity supporting some of the nation’s poorest people, but they also recognise that poverty is about more than food – and seek to work with local authorities and organisations as well as supporting people with compassion to understand the route cause of why they are relying on foodbanks and address these issues.

Locally is Padley Group, who have a special place in my heart as I volunteer here regularly. Their mission is to actively support people who are at risk of hunger, homelessness and poverty in Derby. They hold various fund raising events throughout the year for anyone local – or further afield – wanting to get involved!

So how can you mark International Charity Day? Well firstly, it doesn’t have to just be one day – today is about awareness, but more importantly could be the start of your charity journey, should you choose to embark on it! And although the focus is on eradicating poverty, any charity you support will suffice whether it’s for the earth, humans, animals….whatever is an important cause for you!

You could get involved in a charity event either being hosted in the workplace or locally
One of the obvious ones, if you have the resources to do so, is to donate money to a cause you support
Not able to donate money for whatever reason? You could donate your time if you have it – at a local food bank or other charity. Or spend it sorting out your wardrobe or any other sorting task you’ve been putting off, and any good quality items you don’t need anymore give to a charity shop or directly to help those who would benefit from them!

These are just a few suggestions, but are by no means exhaustive. Are you inspired to contribute to charity? Do you already? What impact does it have on your wellbeing? Let me know