Charity

This time of year calls to mind the idea of giving, and also giving to charity. Most wide-spread, probably, is the Salvation Army. The red kettles pop up around Thanksgiving every year since I can remember, and even now there are digital kettles you can donate to online in competition-like manner, supporting one radio host's kettle versus another.

Everyone has their charities they donate to and don't donate to; it's definitely personal preference. I am going to go out on a limb and take a slightly controversial stance against one that I see this time of year: The Little Wishes campaign for foster children.

Every year, channel 5 here has this "Little Wishes" campaign. Year-round, they support things with foster care, which is fine. But the Little Wishes really bugs me, and here's why: it's expensive. If a person wants to grant a "Little Wish" for a child, you better expect to pay a minimum of $35. Why? Because they don't offer any gifts to choose that cost any less than that. The cheapest toys on their website are 35 dollars. I'm sure some would argue that is not much, but I'm sorry: beggars can't be choosers. Maybe this is not the right attitude to have about it, especially in light of Christmas, but that's just how I feel. This year, I am not even spending $35 on gifts for people I KNOW. I just feel that asking for the things these kids ask for (which span all the way up to $200 toys) is a little much. I would gladly donate to St. Vincent de Paul Society, who helps people who are probably in worse shape than foster children, and they don't ask for $35 items. I can easily afford to give a little girl a sweatshirt that has a cute animal on it, which was one of the ornaments our family pulled off the giving tree this year.

I guess it's all in how a charity is run, but I just don't understand how the child can't be happy with a $20 or $15 toy.