Opinion

Giving to help others is a beautiful thing. But is anyone finding the increased aggression of “chuggers” is destroying a lot of that goodwill.

There are a lot of Australians doing it tough through no fault of their own and it’s our duty to help as a payback for the privilege of being part of the community.

Welfare groups are also suffering from the big squeese. Donations are drying up because of the tough economic times and the demand for their services is increasing for the same reason.

But these days charities are getting more aggressive when it comes to their fundraising techniques, and so the ‘chugger’ (charity + mugger = chugger) is born.

For years we’ve allocated a specific percentage of our family income in the household budget to donations. We give regularly to a few charities that we are passionate about, are happy to help with and also get involved in personally. We’ve encouraged our kids to do the same with the welfare groups of their choice.

When you’re not in a position to donate cold hard cash, you can always give your time, goods, even your blood sweat and tears.

My youngest daughter is still a student, and as part of her philanthropy regularly donates blood. Let’s face it, uni kids aren’t left with a whole lot of money come Sunday morning.