The $1 Rule

Charity is defined as the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need. Now we all hear about the “volunteer your time” side of this, where a person or persons go and give their time to complete a task or fix a problem. What you don’t hear much of is the money charity, unless its on some primetime crime show where the money is laundered in some way. There are few though who give to a big organization a couple of times a year, like the Salvation Army at Christmas, and then it is forgotten about. However, what if it was as simple as donating $1 every day to something? In fact, what if it was a rule that every day $1 had to be given in charity? Before everyone overreacts about who could even afford $1 in today’s economy, I want to point out that it is 1 dollar bill. It is not that much in today’s spectrum of money. No matter who you are, rich or poor, most everyone can afford a dollar. Even homeless people that don’t have two nickels to their name could scrounge up a dollar in change per day. So, who does the money go to? The answer: anyone or anything, as long as you are giving. Donate it to non-profits like the Salvation Army or St. Jude’s or some celebrity’s charity. Give it to your parents for all the money they spent on you. Give it to the homeless people thereby replacing their given dollar. I would even say, give it to that one friend who is always asking for a dollar. As long as you give every day, you’re good. The caveat to donating this dollar is that it is a true donation. You don’t want it paid back, nor do you ask for any form of restitution. It is a dollar that you are parting with as if you are buying something. By this point most of you think I am crazy, but I have to reiterate that $1 is absolutely feasible for everyone. Could we skip buying that $7 Starbucks one time? Sure we could. That is an entire week’s worth of donations taken care of. Could you save the change from other purchases in a jar? Probably. Then after a few days or weeks you would have an extra dollar to cover that particular day. I bet every stay-at-home parent in the world could find $1 a day just cleaning out the sofa, emptying the dryer, and looking in an old jacket they haven’t worn in six months. The end result of all this is that people learn to give. Hoarding money never solved problems. It is when we open our checkbooks and give to those less fortunate that we realize how far $1 can really go. If everyone, rich or poor, was donating their dollars every day, then the money would begin to flow. Non-profits would have more of what they need, those wonderful homeless people who have been giving their dollars might get better shelter, or other help they need, and everyone would start to learn the meaning of charity. And with 8.1 billion people on this rock of ours, that is quite a chunk of change to use for better purposes. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.