Charity In A Recession Is More Meaningful

Is the end of recession here? From the recent slew of "bleak" economic data, I remain pessimistic. In fact, I don't want the recession to end too soon, lest we forget important lessons from the financial crisis and go back to our spending binges.

I believe many Americans are still staying true to their newfound frugality. They are cutting back on expenses and setting aside money to weather turbulence in the coming months.

However, it is one thing to save money but quite another when our frugal living gives rise rise to an uncaring society where there is little room for charitable giving.

I can understand during a recession, charity work is among the first expense to be sacrificed. That is hardly a tough decision; after all, you have to make ends meet first before helping others.

But charity is even more important during a recession. People who are living at the lowest rungs of poverty are affected more by rising costs or the loss of income. Every dollar counts for them.

Forget about the idea that only the wealthy can afford to be charitable. So long as you have a roof over your head, food on the table and enjoy basic amenities, you are already more fortunate and can make a difference in the life of those struggling with poverty.

At the moment, many charities are struggling to stay afloat. Recession deals a double blow to charities as sharp drops in donations and investment income have been coupled by soaring demand for their services.

Being charitable in a recession means we have to do more with less. It takes creativity but more importantly, the heart to share and give. Here are some tips to get you started on charitable giving:

1. Be A Volunteer
If you can't write a check, then be a volunteer. It also looks good on your resume as job interviewers look favorably on time spent volunteering than watching TV or wallowing in self pity.

2. Put Your Skills To Use
If you have a practical skill or hobby, why not use it to help someone? Charities will always require people to do maintenance, landscaping, property improvement, hair-cutting, administrative work, cooking, etc.

Thus, if you are a handyman, carpenter, landscaper, hair stylist or a cook, then your services will be greatly appreciated. It is also beneficial to you as your skills will not be rusty and you may even acquire new skills which come in handy for a career switch or to impress your current employer.

3. Donate Household Items To Charity
Have a wardrobe full of "new" clothing that no longer fits or isn’t quite
fashionable enough? Those items can be especially helpful to a charity. So do your toys and unopened gifts.

4. Send Extra Food To The Food Bank
If you bought extra food at the grocery store because of special discounts or buying in bulk, you can always send some items to the food bank. It is good to give nutritious items but even biscuits, crackers, canned food are better than nothing.

5. Utilize your network
Don’t be shy. Tell your friends, neighbors and relatives that you are doing charity and ask if they want to help out. You will be surprised by the positive response.

If you still need a final kick to begin your charity work, think about setting a good example for your children. It is a good chance to impart right life values to them.

Rather than engaging in extravagant lifestyles and forever complaining that money is not enough, it is better to let our kids learn to make do with they have and yet, give to the less fortunate at the same time.

Aussies In World's List Of Poorest

Australia is a developed country but can you believe that its people, or to be exact, retirees, are the fourth poorest in the developed world? According to a report on poverty, the nation has the poorest unemployed people of any developed nation.

The key findings in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development report revealed that:

1. Half the single retirees are living in poverty (defined as less than 50 per cent of average earnings).

2. 27% of all our retirees are living in poverty.

3. Number of single pensioners in poverty has risen by 4.8% in the last decade.

4. Unemployed are worse off than pensioners -- being rated as the poorest in any developed nation.

The pensioner poverty rate is a real disgrace and underlined the failure of the government. As for the unemployed, there is a sobering message with the number set to rise by 200,000 due to the economic turmoil.

The Rudd Government has moved to boost pension incomes this year, introducing a $500 allowance that is paid quarterly and raising the telephone allowance to $132 a year. Last week it announced a one-off $1400 lump sum pre-Christmas bonus for single pensioners and $2100 for couples to boost consumer spending. It also has an inquiry under way into raising the rate of the single pension currently set at $281 a week.

The unemployed have $50 a week less to live off than aged pensioners and they were left out of the Government's recent economic rescue package.