Many Americans wonder in such a hard economic time what the right thing to do is. When the poor country of Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake last Tuesday, some may wonder if they should send a donation, and if they had a social responsibility to Haiti. I started thinking about this last week when my marketing teacher brought it up. He asked for our opinion, "Is it our individual responsibility to help the people of Haiti out?" I never said anything in class, because I was not totally sure what my opinion was. After I thought about it I knew exactly what my view was.
I personally don't think it is my individual responsibility to donate to Haiti. I know that sounds extremely selfish on my part, but I believe my financial donations could do just as much good right here in the United States. With an astonishing 10% unemployment rate that is creating many homeless and starving families right here in my own country, I don't think I should send my money thousands of miles away, especially since I haven't ever visited Haiti and I don't plan on visiting Haiti.
Fortunately for Haiti, many other Americans see it differently than I do. CNN Money reported that Haiti has received over $220 million in donations since the catastrophic quake. Now, celebrities are bring their big bucks into the disaster. Brad and Angelina have donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders, Wyclef Jean has raised over $2 million, $1 million was donated by Sandra Bullock, and George Clooney hosted a telethon to raise money for Haiti.
With celebrities donating several million dollars, I can't compete. Would my small donation even help? I would rather give $100 to a local, needy family. They could use the money for anything they needed like clothes, food, school supplies and gas money. I would actually be able to see how $100 improved a family's life, instead of never knowing exactly what it was used for in Haiti. I'm not saying that my donation to Haiti would be wasted. It would make me feel better, and I would be more likely to help people again if I knew my hard earned money had a positive effect on a local family.
I hope I haven't discouraged any of you from donating to Haiti. I believe it is very important to donate to a good cause, so go out and research organizations that you can relate to. Charities and other organizations are always looking for financial help. They do so much good for communities and the country, the least we can do is give a bit back. So go out there, find your favorite charity or organization and donate whatever you can give.
