Charity-Giving Leader Board..Some Surprises!

Hi Janey.. An interesting report there. I don't know about being happy if my leg was hanging off though! I give when I can, but I have noticed that send to one charity and a whole bunch of envelopes is soon dropping on my mat! I have noticed how many of these different charities have the same address - all box numbers.. I am wondering now because I read a report in the newspaper the other day that some charities are using agents and not seeing any money at all, so I will always try to give direct to the charity. Having had a heart attack myself, I often go into the British Heart Foundation shops and donate there and take some stuff for them to sell. The same with cancer charities - direct to the shops. I know then that those shops are run by the charities themselves. _Derek

That’s quite interesting and sort of backs up a common perception of people from the UK. That is we have grown into a very isolated society where we live in our own bubbles with a small group of friends. As such it doesn’t surprise me that we are lousy when it comes to giving time and helping strangers as it threatens the security we have built for ourselves as individuals but then compensate that with giving money. Maybe others from other countries can read something similar into their results with maybe giving more time because of generally being a more social country.

I'm not surprised to see Denmark at the top, I was a bit surprised to see the U.K. as low as it was, but I guess I shouldn't be... The U.S. was about where I thought it would be

As opposed to giving improper money? Interesting how low the number is of people donating time, isn't it?

I am quite surprised about this. When I read your post, I thought that the country that I am from would be in first place but I suppose that each of us thought the same thing. I'm looking at that 8.0 well being score and getting ready to pack my bags. LOL. I wonder if these stats have been impacted by the recession.

WOW, I was really surprised to find out that we're at #3!!! It nearly knocked me off my chair. I give out a lot to Charities in my community. I believe that unhappy people arent prone to give out so easily, so it makes sense what they say.

Hello, Janey. I'm rather surprised at those results as well. Apparently, although the UK give pretty freely of their money, because they don't seem to give so much time, and are a bit reticent with strangers, it pulls them down. The way I read this, we scored lower because of the inherrent British reserve. It's a form of racism, really. Here in Spain, most of the charity organisations are manned by British expats who give freely of their time and money. Spain isn't big on charity, because they have the idea that charity begins at home, so they look after those who need it, although they're not so soppy over animals as we are in the UK. Spanish families don't need help from charities for the elderly, or cancer nurses, because they all rally around to look after whoever needs it. I give as much as I can in goods and time, although money is a bit of an issue at the moment. However, I wouldn't pass by on the other side if someone needed help, stranger or not, and nor would most people I know - whatever their nationality.

I expected the U.S. to be higher than it is too, but???? I think the U.S. might have been higher than it is now, because right now, as a whole, I don't think we're very happy. Maybe after our elections in November . All I know is I wish I were in a position to give more, but living on a fixed income with raising taxes just doesn't leave you much to give. Have a great day, Janey.