A small change
It seems like every day our Facebook feeds are filled with people, sick dogs, injured cats, endangered animals and charities small and large - all seeking our help by donating to their cause.
A visit to the shops, answering the phone, watching TV and a trip to the mail box can all be accompanied by another surge of guilt that you’re not doing enough.
So-called ‘donor fatigue’ is an unfortunate reality, particularly as there are more demands on our income. Along with donor fatigue, people can also feel uncomfortable being the one asking for donations.
Inspiring individuals and organisations who’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their cause are rightly celebrated.
But can that make people feel embarrassed to donate a small amount and unwilling to step foot into the fundraising arena for fear of not doing enough?
In the face of overwhelming need, it is easy to feel that a small donation or fundraising effort might not be worth the time or effort. What if we told you that literally every dollar can help?
A nifty fifty
For around what you might pay for a professional car wash, our feature charities are researching, educating and supporting people living with chronic illness.
With $50.00:
- The Heart Foundation WA can buy a bottle of nutrient solution which is used to grow heart cells for study and research into heart disease
- People who’ve been newly diagnosed as living with diabetes can attend education courses to help them understand and manage their diabetes
- And for people with cancer it means the opportunity to see a Cancer Nurse who can connect them to the best support services for their treatment
A $25.00 trip to the movies can also equate some lifechanging services:
- Transport for a cancer patient to and from hospital treatments
- One call to Lifeline WA’s crisis support line
- It will even buy a pedometer for the Heart Foundation WA, to help unlock the link between inactivity and heart disease
Even smaller donations can still make a big difference:
- For $10, heart researchers can buy a Zebrafish - tiny fish with similar hearts to ours that can repair their own hearts when damaged
- For someone who has just found out they have cancer, $10 is going to provide them with an information pack to help them understand their diagnosis
- Even $5 equips Heart Foundation staff with basic research equipment such as syringes, test tubes and flasks for growing heart cells
Whatever your reason for taking part in this year’s HBF Run, why not make fundraising and donating part of your experience - remember that it is donation that makes a difference, not the size of it.
When the Run is over and the muscle soreness has been soaked away, you can also enjoy knowing that your fundraising effort not only made a difference to your life…but potentially to someone else’s.