“You may never know what results come from your actions. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” ―Mahatma Gandhi
This past weekend, I attended a major sporting event with my 12-year old son, Salem. Here’s the selfie to prove it. It was a close game. And our team won in dramatic fashion.
If you’ve ever attended a sporting event (especially football), you know the fans in attendance can be quite passionate at times.
The overweight, 30-year old man next to me criticized the coach the entire game for not calling the right plays. Apparently, a play-action pass would guarantee a score on almost every play. Never mind the fact that the actual coach had probably spent 60+ hours watching film and meticulously planning for this game… apparently the guy next to me knew more.
Meanwhile the 50-year old woman behind us with the raspy voice knew, somehow, that the referees had a bias against our team. Every call they made against the home team was wrong and I lost count how many times they didn’t call a penalty on the other guys. The fact that we were 22 rows up and the refs were within feet of the players didn’t seem to bother her… apparently she saw everything better than the trained professionals.
But I’ll leave those thoughts aside for now. There are probably some life lessons to be drawn about leadership and criticism and humility, but maybe I will save them for another time.
During the game, on this particular afternoon, I was struck by our propensity to applaud others. It seems we are a people who love to cheer.
We are quick to clap and stand and whistle when people accomplish great feats. We applaud enthusiastically at athletic events, musical venues, dramatic performances, spacecraft landings, and even product launches.
Applause is important to us. It allows us to express appreciation, offer encouragement, and even affect the outcome of sporting events. It makes us feel like we are part of the action… and that is where applause can become deceptive.
Applause is not the same as participation—at least, not in all cases. But I fear that often times, we confuse the two.
Recently, Fast Company published an article about advocacy based on a study conducted by Cone Communications. The study revealed that 60% of Americans believe tweeting or posting information online is an effective form of advocacy or support. While activism used to require making a donation, volunteering time, or signing a petition, in today’s world, “activism” has become as simple as clicking a button.
And while the study is quick to point out that ‘liking’ or ‘tweeting’ about a social cause does help raise awareness, less than 35% of respondents who supported a cause online could point to an actual donation made to the same cause. Applause has become confused with participation.
Alison DaSilva, executive vice president of Cone Communications, sums it this way, “It’s no surprise we’re seeing a gap between the actions Americans say they’d like to take online and what they’re actually doing; considering the bulk of online activities offered today are focused on more passive actions, such as watching a video or ‘liking’ a social page.”
Cheering for a cause is rarely the same as participating in it. (tweet that)
Recently, the Ice Bucket Challenge made a big splash on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. According to some data about the campaign, more than 90% of the people mentioning it (posting themselves being doused or passing on the word) did not make a financial donation to support actual research on the disease.
Seth Godin called it slacktivism.
Were there benefits to the campaign? Sure. In fact, millions of dollars were raised for ALS research and related organizations. Applause does have its place.
So cheer on charity. Retweet and Like those organizations that are working to make a difference and overcome injustice in our world. Enthusiastically applaud those who are doing important work.
But don’t forget that most charities need more than your applause. They need your time. They need your money. And they need your expertise.
They need you to step off the sideline and get into the game.
Judy says
Just to add—animal shelters often need volunteers just to walk dogs so they can get some fresh air, exercise and companionship. You don’t have to open your wallet. ;) —no excuses. If you can’t find a charity who just needs your presence, you are not looking hard enough. I have NEVER been urged to donate cash after donating time. Never. And if so…you can just say “No.” why is that hard?! Just so tired of excuses.
Pat says
I agree with many of you on giving money-it does just seem to produce more requests. We have chosen to give by fostering and adopting 2 children from our local child welfare system. We give blood. We mentor teens and young adults-informally-there doesn’t always have to be a formal “charity”. We adopt all of our pets from the humane society. Giving is so much more than just money.
Judy says
I had to laugh, Joshua…”But they knew better!” lol so funny—so true. :) Customers often try to tell me how to do my job and they are clueless. I give, I volunteer, I pray. It’s worth being asked to do more. So what about an additional phone call or mail! That’s why we have a recycle bin or delete button! BTW your son is adorable! Looks the same age as my granddaughter. My, we are blessed!!! :)
ralf says
Their directors want my money. When I offered time and expertise I never got a reply.
My money stays in the family so my nieces can finish university in the shortest time without the need for jobbing or loan.
ralf says
Their directors want my money. When I offered time I never got a reply.
Deborah says
Well put! As an aside, are you able to recommend any charities which would benefit from volunteer work, rather than cash donations? As a temporary world traveller I am looking for short term volunteering opportunities, but can’t seem to find anything suitable, as they often require longer term commitments. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.
Queen Mary says
soup kitchens, homeless shelters, libraries, hospitals, schools, nursing homes. Check to see if your community or the community you are temporarily visiting has a volunteer clearing house – mine does. Soup kitchens often are looking for servers or last minute sandwich makers; libraries for book shelvers, hospitals for “candy stripers,” or visitors/readers; same with schools and nursing homes. It doesn’t take much. But you have to be willing to do what is needed to be done — not what you want to do.
Pete Simpson says
I volunteer for two local charities (a Food Bank and my local branch of Alzheimers society (UK)( and I find I get as much out of volunteering as they hopefully benefit from my involvement. In both cases, it’s very easy to see the impact we are making as volunteers and this gives instant job satisfaction. It’s also very good from a social point of view. I’ve met a good variety of people from all kinds of backgrounds, they are all really great and some have become friends outside of our work. If you have the time, I definitely recommend finding something that you enjoy to volunteer for.
Tracey Martin says
Pete,
I volunteer in similar fashion. There’s a connection that’s made when you are face to face with an organization’s needs. It also reminds me to be grateful and count my many blessings. Cheers.
Tracey
Pete Simpson says
absolutely Tracey, I’m grateful everyday for my upbringing, good health and reasonably comfortable life. It’s good to put something back into society.
Good luck with your volunteering,
Pete
Valerie says
I completely agree with your stance about actually donating money to charities. However most charities will not allow you to donate unless you give them your phone number, email, etc. Then you’re on a list and are sometimes harassed to give more. I donated to a charity that continuously called me looking for more money, and was actually rude when I didn’t want to give more. Such a shame! I would donate much more money if they just took the money and didn’t send me mail over and over again which is such a waste of paper. Not to mention this is a minimalist site. The last thing I want is more mail! If you have any pull Joshua, maybe you could suggest to these organizations to accept the donation without calling and/or sending more junk mail to the donors homes.
Pat says
Valerie,
I have managed the issue you cite in several ways. When I want to make a one-time contribution, I include a note with my check saying something like, “If you cash this check, you are agreeing not to sell or give my contact information to anyone else, and you agree not to contact me except to mail me a receipt.” For other orgs that I like to support on an annual basis, I ask them to contact me only once a year, and say I will no longer support them if they send frequent mailings. If I get calls from any org that I don’t want to get calls from, I ask them to remove me from their call list — and they do. I also keep a log of when I make donations to each org. And before donating to a new org, I check orgs out on charitynavigator.org or similar sites to see how they are rated. Some smaller, but worthwhile orgs, are not rated if they do not meet certain financial minimums, but that does not mean they are not worth supporting.
Pat says
I work for a non-profit. If you gave me money and told me not to contact you, I would respect that, and we do have donors who don’t want to be contacted. Otherwise, yes, you would go on a list and you would be contacted. Simply opt out, don’t “not give”-give them a chance.
On another note, whether donating money or time always investigate the charity to ensure you are giving to a reputable group. Even well known charities can fall from grace.
Daniel Aipa says
I enjoy the way you tell the truth and the fact behind things many of us sometimes over look. I’m guilty of being one that felt that tweeting or sharing a certain cause is giving back. Although it may bring some awareness, I know I could be do more to help the cause. Mahalo for this, it brought things into perspective for me. Aloha.
joanna says
This is spot on. I wholeheartedly agree and its time I step up. Thanks for this gentle reminder of humanity! It needs to be said .
Sandra Pawula says
You have a beautiful way of telling it like it is, Joshua. Thanks for your courage.
joshua becker says
And you have such a wonderful way of encouraging me to do so. Aloha and thank you Sandra.