When Charity should start at home

There's a well known saying that charity starts at home and sometimes I feel myself muttering it under my breath as I walk past the numerous volunteers collecting money for charity at the station. Its not that I'm anti charity but if I gave money to every single charity then I would become in need of charity. I also find that they have this magical ability to make me feel horrendously guilty as everyone in the station walks past them in a rush to get to work.

My guilt got the better of me when I walked past a retired man stood on a cold and windy Waterloo bridge collecting money for RNLI. Now I would happily donate to the RNLI but I was rushing for a train and couldn't stop but as soon as I got to the station I felt so guilty I considered walking back across the bridge to give my donation to that poor guy feeling the effects of a strong sidewind. In the end I did donate to the RNLI, did miss my train but felt relieved to know that if one day I or any of my friends or family needed the RNLI then my little donation would go towards helping them.

I guess thats the type of charity that makes me warm inside, the ones that can help the people I love and care about which is why I was honoured to be invited to a girls night in for Breast Cancer Care. This night was great fun, spent with great people raising money for a great cause and there is something so fulfilling about a night like that. There was no guilt for not donating as we had fun games that we paid money to join in with and paid to have manicures.

So I guess sometimes charity really should start at home.