I’ve been reflecting recently on what charity means to me. Since I can remember, it’s been about donating to, fundraising for and volunteering with my favourite organisations tackling the issues that are close to my heart. But as I’ve grown older, it’s become more than this.
For me, it’s about weaving small actions into my everyday life that could have a positive impact on others. It’s participating in community life – from stopping to chat with a lonely neighbour to exercising my right to vote for the party I believe will do the most to lift people up. It’s about starting conversations with friends and family about the heart-breaking circumstances people find themselves in because of poverty, war or natural disasters.
It’s about questioning ‘Why should I care’ attitudes and encouraging people to explore their prejudices with the aim of changing hearts and minds. It’s about shining a light on our shared humanity and encouraging people to recognise our similarities rather than our differences. It’s about using these conversations to ignite our compassion for those who are suffering in our own communities and on the other side of the world.
But most of all, it’s about recognising that we all have the power to make a difference. It’s about believing that if our small actions make just one life better then that’s still a win – and that those small actions can create wider-spread change when performed by the masses. We can’t all be a Gandhi, a Mandela or a Thunberg. But we can channel the passion of those who inspire us and use it to make life better for others in our small corner of the world.
Claire
Director, Colvine Communications
