Satisfaction. That's what it's all about. The personal satisfaction you feel when you help someone who really needs your help. And no, you don't have to enter their world to help them...but you can if you want to. And there are many people who do just that and they deserve our consideration, support, and gratitude. A certain amount of courage goes with that kind of service. That's for sure.
Money is the magic potion these charities need. Money or the time and effort it represents. Unfortunately, according to the natural order of things, some people have a big problem in negotiating life. You know how hard it is for you even with all your opportunities. But some people don't even have those chances.They're held back by their physical problems, health problems, emotional problems, and anything else in life that limits their potential, whether it's their responsibility or not. Some people just can't do the normal things we need to sustain our lives in this society without help.
I'm not talking about living a person's life for them. I'm definitely talking about helping people learn how to help themselves even if it requires major support during the process. People can alway do better. People alway want to do better. Just because they've found some temporary crutch that works for them now doesn't mean that they wouldn't throw it away to be a confident, capable person on their own if they only knew how.
People really do want to stand on their own, make their own choices, and create the life they want for themselves. They want to have control of themselves. They want to feel confident that they can deal with life in a responsible way and feel good about the whole process even with its ups and down, disappointments, and frustrations.
So where do you come in to this equation. Easy. You can love them. You can get involved. You can do something. You can send a check. You can volunteer a couple of hours of your time (You'll find plenty of takers with a little effort just going through your local newspaper.) You can attend an event where you'll meet some new friends, develop some business relationships, or maybe even find a spouse. Those all seem like a good return on making a small effort to help someone who needs your help. It feels good to help someone who you know is in desperate need of help. You can take the pressure off the drastic aspects of their lives and give them some breathing room, even if it's just for a little while, to help create the positive environment for them build their own lives. It's so easy. It's so satisfying. And it's reasonably priced. And the return is the pleasure you feel in yourself for being a decent person when it comes to your responsibility to the others in your community. So try it. You'll like yourself just a little bit more for doing it. I promise you.
