What makes people give? The easy answer is that it makes them feel better about themselves. People have a need to feel important - the less empowered people feel, the more they give. Surveys have shown that families earning around $10,000 donate an average of 4% of their income. Families earning $100,000 donate just 1%.
How about kids? On June 1, thirty-six students in first through fourth grades, along with a small number of parents, teachers, and staff members, gathered at Amsterdam School for a "hair- snipping" ceremony. The purpose of the cutting was to collect hair - at least 10 inches long - to be donated to the Florida-based charity Locks of Love. Locks of Love uses the hair to make wigs for children suffering from permanent medical hair loss.
The Amsterdam School program, spearheaded by third grade teacher Lisa Jacobsen, has grown from three student participants four years ago to 36 this year. That kind of success shows us that children want to give. But why? - and why something so personal? Even a child as young as 7 or 8 years old can understand why this program is worthwhile - and they can certainly identify with children like themselves who need help and will benefit from Locks of Love.
But there may be a deeper psychological need to give. Children, being the least empowered members of society, really have the most to gain by giving. And by giving away so much of themselves, they are truly enriching themselves!
Way to go girls! Let's hope your example enriches us all.
First of all, are you trying to tell me that a FAMILY earning only $10,000 per year gives $400 to charity? Somehow I doubt it, they couldn't even pay for housing and food on that amount. That's not even one minimum wage job.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment anonymous. This example comes from Psychology Today. Have a look.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20031219-000001.html
The point is that people that have less tend to give a higher percentage of what they have.