part 2 of compassion

[unformed 0]

For $3000 you can save the life of a child in Africa and give him hope for the future. 100% of the money will go to pay for food and education.

You can delay that vacation or that big screen TV for a few months and donate $3000 to this kid.

Will you or will you not? If not, why not, and are you heartless because of it?

edit to correct unmatched values before some asshat tells me to make up my mind whether its 3k or 5k.

This ad space for sale.

[kallend 2,106]

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For $3000 you can save the life of a child in Africa and give him hope for the future. 100% of the money will go to pay for food and education.

You can delay that vacation or that big screen TV for a few months and donate $5000 to this kid.

Will you or will you not? If not, why not, and are you heartless because of it?

What does the kid do with the $2,000 left over? Go on a vacation or buy a TV?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[unformed 0]

lol ... you beat me to it. ...

This ad space for sale.

[akarunway 1]

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I think Madonna has that end of the world covered doesn't she?For $3000 you can save the life of a child in Africa and give him hope for the future. 100% of the money will go to pay for food and education.

You can delay that vacation or that big screen TV for a few months and donate $3000 to this kid.

Will you or will you not? If not, why not, and are you heartless because of it?

edit to correct unmatched values before some asshat tells me to make up my mind whether its 3k or 5k.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[peregrinerose 0]

I'd keep the money. A little cash/food/education wouldn't really make a lot of difference long term.

In real life, I plan to adopt kids out of the foster care system... that is how to make a real and permanent change in a child's life.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[StreetScooby 5]

Let's hope these aren't questions coming out of your college philosophy class.

We are all engines of karma

[unformed 0]

Nope I'm done with college.

And I already know my views.

This ad space for sale.

[Nightingale 0]

I probably would donate the money, but I don't think I'd want it to go to one kid. My charitable donations go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, because the donations not only benefit the children directly, but they go to benefit everyone with cancer, because St Jude's is one of the research hospitals that's been making some pretty incredible cancer advances. I'd like my money to contribute to changing many lives rather than just one.

I think it's important to balance charity and personal needs... It's your money; you earned it, and you have the right to keep it if you want to. I don't think you have an obligation to give it away. I donate not because I think it's "right" but because I want to help. I do little things to get some pocket money, and usually about 50% of the net profits get donated, and 50% goes to pay for some occasional tunnel time or a something fun. Sometimes, St. Jude's sends letters from the kids, or cards or something, and those go up on my fridge with the other holiday cards.

[kallend 2,106]

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I probably would donate the money, but I don't think I'd want it to go to one kid.

This is clearly a semi-infinite loop given that the number of starving uneducated sick children in Africa exceeds your capacity to support them all. You help one, and there are millions of others left. So do you keep sending $3,000 checks until your assets are completely exhausted? If not, how do you decide when to stop?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[freethefly 6]

Why be selective and give it all to just one? Why not see to it that it goes to help build a school or invested in a well, pump and irrigation system.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Nightingale 0]

That's pretty much what I was trying to say. I'd reather see money go to things that will benefit the community/world as a whole rather than one individual. i guess that's more of a personal preference thing, though... do you want to make all the difference for one person, or a little difference for a lot of people?

[Michele 1]

Let's see...a TV or a kid...

TV or kid.

Wow.

TV or kid.

Kid. Hello???? Kid. A human life is far more important than a TV. Lessen suffering instead of indulging in my own self? Yeah, for me that's a no brainer. The kid.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Gravitymaster 0]

How large of a TV are we talking about?

j/k

[wmw999 2,534]

So how many of you have bought a TV lately? Or a car (I did). Or a rig, or a jumpsuit, or skydives.

Each of us could, in fact, through extensive selfless research and donation make an enormous and significant difference in others' lives. But we have our own to live, too. It's kind of about the balance.

So as you think about the kids your TV could save, think about the tutoring you could be doing during skydiving time, or the money that could go to some very worthy charities out there. Then remember that you do have to have something left for yourself as well, but that maybe you don't have to keep it all.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Kid. Hello???? Kid. A human life is far more important than a TV. Lessen suffering instead of indulging in my own self? Yeah, for me that's a no brainer. The kid.

But human life is not more important than skydiving, unless you've found a free DZ

[Michele 1]

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So as you think about the kids your TV could save, think about the tutoring you could be doing during skydiving time, or the money that could go to some very worthy charities out there. Then remember that you do have to have something left for yourself as well, but that maybe you don't have to keep it all.

You're right...it's a balance. I just got a (new to me) car, because my 10 year old car was pretty dead. My dad helped me (a lot), I financed the rest. But since my tv is still in perfect working order (it's old - and not plasma or LCD), I don't need a new one right now...and that's the point, isn't it?

For me, in LA, a car is a necessity of life. A TV isn't. Since this thanksgiving I have no where to go and lots of studying to do, I'm heading off to my local aid shelter for some standing on my feet helping others. I'm looking forward to that...

There's a balance to be struck, to be sure...and when I'm sitting in yet another class, listening to a 20 year old whine about how the books are so expensive and yet talking to his friend on a treo while wearing name brand clothing and the most expensive pair of shoes out there, I think there are some people who have a long, long way to go to understand that. And it's not just the kids I'm talking about, either...

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Nightingale 0]

Maybe mom and dad bought the phone and clothes, and they're paying out of pocket for the books? That's how it was for me as an undergrad.

This calendar year, I've spent over $2000 on textbooks. I think that entitles me to a bit of whining?

[kallend 2,106]

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Maybe mom and dad bought the phone and clothes, and they're paying out of pocket for the books? That's how it was for me as an undergrad.

This calendar year, I've spent over $2000 on textbooks. I think that entitles me to a bit of whining?

Wow. Publishers send them to me for free.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Nightingale 0]

My Civil Rights prof apologized to us the first week of class for assigning a $250 textbook. He had no idea how much the thing cost until someone complained.

Somehow, I think if professors had to purchase their copies of the texts, they'd start assigning cheaper ones, since it's mostly the quality of the teaching rather than the quality of the text that determines the quality of the class.

[Michele 1]

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This calendar year, I've spent over $2000 on textbooks. I think that entitles me to a bit of whining?

I've got about 1000 in textbooks for this semester alone; winter will be about 200, next semester will be about 1200...

The difference, Kris, is you're not whining about it. You're not walking around with a sense of entitlement; you don't believe anyone owes you anything. This particular kid, after getting a D on the test, came over to me and asked if I would lend him my book. I agreed, but conditionally; that he get it and then give it back shortly (one week later), because I needed it. His response: hey, you got an A. You don't need the book! I asked him how he thought I got the A...he turned around and walked away. Look, I'm more than willing to help people, as long as they meet me 1/2 way. I can't afford to give my books to other students...but I'm willing to lend them and set up study groups (which I offered but he declined...).

You don't have a sense of entitlement...he does. Problem, that...and, you're not whining. Nor am I...even though my financial aid hasn't yet come through (and won't until December...gonna be a really tight few months....). He is whining, and has a sense of entitlement...but then again, the other major difference is you and I've been in the "real" world, and he is just entering it.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Nightingale 0]

Not sure about the quality of your school library, but sometimes the libraries will have copies of the books in the reference/reserved section. Sometimes even the public libraries will have them. Might be worth it to check it out. I got some of my undergrad texts from the school library, and the LA County libraries actually had a few of the grad school texts.

[Shell666 0]

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I probably would donate the money, but I don't think I'd want it to go to one kid.

This is clearly a semi-infinite loop given that the number of starving uneducated sick children in Africa exceeds your capacity to support them all. You help one, and there are millions of others left. So do you keep sending $3,000 checks until your assets are completely exhausted? If not, how do you decide when to stop?

If they don't stop, they'd end up as the topic of discussion in THIS thread.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for donating money and time towards worthy charities. But a balance has to be met. Could I go without that vacation? Probably. Do I want to go without it? No because I worked hard for it and I deserve it. That's what enables me to continue to work, and donate money and time to charities. Without it, I may resent going without, get burned out and not donate at all.

'Shell

'Shell

[kallend 2,106]

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My Civil Rights prof apologized to us the first week of class for assigning a $250 textbook. He had no idea how much the thing cost until someone complained.

Somehow, I think if professors had to purchase their copies of the texts, they'd start assigning cheaper ones, since it's mostly the quality of the teaching rather than the quality of the text that determines the quality of the class.

I made the text book in my freshman class optional. My electronic materials class textbook is required, but less than $100. I agree that the textbook business is a big rip-off. When I am Emperor of the Universe (expected real soon now) I shall prohibit any prof who's a textbook author from requiring students to buy his/her book. Strikes me as unethical.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kbordson 8]

I have a problem with a lot of those programs that advertise on TV.... "poor (insert name of heart wrenching child here) has no food or clean clothes.... just send me your money" If I could trust the organization that I was donating to, I would send the money to Africa.....

But I do trust Shriners Hospital and the medical mission that I personally go on.

as noted above St. Judes is also respectable.

[Jaden 0]

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I'd like my money to contribute to changing many lives rather than just one.

I think it's important to balance charity and personal needs... It's your money; you earned it, and you have the right to keep it if you want to. I don't think you have an obligation to give it away. I donate not because I think it's "right" but because I want to help.

I agree. We give to a few different charities, when we have it. $3K’s a lot of cash; I’d rather see it spent on more than one person...But for friends or family, absolutely.