Recently I read that the biggest donors of charity in America are black Americans, second biggest Hispanic Americans, third biggest Asian Americans, and fourth is white Americans.
But the percentages are pretty high, regardless. If I recall correctly, it was almost 90% for black Americans, and more than 80% for white Americans.
I would guess that most people give to their church, and about that many give to their community.
Every year when I do my taxes with TurboTax, one of the things I notice is how our charitable contributions compare with others in our tax bracket. Some years we give more, some less, but that's not the point. My point is that the IRS keeps statistics on this, and Americans do give a lot in cash and in kind. I can't recall the percentage, certainly not 10%, but maybe 5%?
The IRS can't measure how much people give in time, but I see them every day. For example, at the public library, I see this neat retired guy I know who's been shelving books for years. He's one of a legion who volunteers at the library. And I see people patiently teaching adults to read, one on one. That has to be one of the most admirable things to do in the world.
At the hospital, I see Candy Stripers helping people find rooms, and carrying flowers, and pushing wheelchairs. And I see people donating blood.
At the courthouse, I see the CASA volunteers, who monitor cases involving abused women and children and assist the victims through the process. I see the Neutral Case Evaluators, who hang out in the hallways on Motions Day, and help resolve cases and take a heavy load off the judges. At $250 an hour, a day volunteered at the courthouse is worth a couple thousand dollars, but they can't claim that on their income tax.
I see my brother-in-law, who every day for decades visited a paraplegic man his age, helping bathe him and toilet him until the day the man died.
I see my dad, who donated free dentistry to an entire monastery for decades. The local hospital could always count on him to get up in the wee hours to reconstruct the mouth of someone injured in a bad car wreck. Most of the time he got paid, but he didn't know that when he got up at 3 a.m., and he didn't really worry about it one way or the other.
I see the people who run the local foodbank.
And that's just in my small, privileged world.
I see many, many people who don't think the world owes them a living. Maybe you take them for granted? |
