Last week, I told a personal story that got a few folks talking. I raised a personal question about giving when presented with circumstances out of the blue. The response I received showed an amazingly diverse array of what people consider to be their charitable obligation to their fellow man. What is your obligation to another human being when they confront you with their pleas for help? What’s your obligation to make sure that the help you offer is used in a constructive way? So many people called into the show to share their strategies for giving that I wanted to share my story and some of the advice I got from the listening audience.
My wife and I decided that the first time we would take our newborn out into the world would be a quick trip to the grocery store one Monday morning. As we were leaving we stopped at a stop sign around the corner and we were approached by a gaunt woman with very few teeth who caught my eye as she pleaded to me 
that she was starving. I have never been approached by a panhandler who was claiming that they were starving. It shocked me because she actually looked like she hadn’t seen a meal in quite a while. I couldn’t ignore her. Usually in that situation I never have any cash, so it’s a quick scan of my car to see if there’s any loose change laying around to scoop up and give. This time was different because of the severity of the situation. I’ve never had someone actually tell me that they were starving. I had to give her SOMETHING. My wife and I had 20 bucks between us and we just gave it to the woman who had begun telling us a story about how her kid’s father had abandoned her and she had no food. When I handed her the cash you’d think that I’d given her a gold nugget. I just hoped it was going to help. A friend of mine in law enforcement laughed at me and told me that I had most likely just helped buy the lady a crack rock.
I told this story to the listening audience last week and many of you agreed with my police buddy. However, that didn’t mean that the listeners to the show were stingy and didn’t give. They actually educated me on some strategies that they employ in order to be able to give, but still make sure that the money goes to help and not hurt. Here are some of the ideas they gave me.
– Give only to organizations not people. People will buy drugs and booze. Organizations will provide needed services to those who need it making sure your money does what you intend.
– Offer food or clothes not money. If you buy some sandwiches or some winter gear for the person, you’ve helped but not aided some possible damaging behavior.
– Keep restaurant gift cards in small denominations in your vehicle. Instead of having to give out cash or even going to a restaurant to buy food, you get a hybrid solution.
– Some people who want to really get involved said that they would actually take people grocery shopping. Many of which refuse because they’d rather have the cash.
What do you do in order to give but not be taken advantage of?
