Charity is a very personal choice, and I want to respect that. Religion may play a large role in directing your charitable giving. If so, then that is something to include in your own way, but since it is not the reason for everyone’s giving, that isn’t addressed in the below. I hope that the below helps cover the basics about what charity is, different ways to be charitable, and different benefits to being charitable. Gratitude and generosity are two great lessons that charity help us teach, and I hope these notes help you instill these lessons in your own kids.
Dear Ney Ney,
Charity is helping those who need help. Charity can be buying a hungry person a sandwich when you go into a restaurant. It can also be giving money to a charity that uses your money to provide help to many people, like a soup kitchen that prepares and serves meals to the hungry or elderly. Some people choose to give, or donate, money to charity. Other people donate their time, for example by helping serve food in a place that cooks food to the hungry.
There are many reasons that charity is important, but here I want to talk to you about the two that I think are most important.
The first reason is that giving charity is simply the right thing to do. Charity helps those less fortunate than us, and we have a responsibility as humans to help other humans. Why? Because simply knowing someone needs help, and refusing to help, makes the world a sad place. Of course, you don’t have to help every single person that asks you for help, but you are fortunate enough to to be able to help others, even a little bit, so you should.
The second reason to give charity is how it will help you maintain a positive outlook on life. When you give charity it reminds you how much you have, or how abundant your life is. When you feel thankful, or grateful, for all that you have you tend to feel happier and more content. Feeling grateful, or gratitude, is possibly the best way to feel happy and content.
I am certain that you can find a cause or problem that you care about and want to support, and I hope that it is a habit you keep your whole life.
I love you.
Dad
