'Giving Tuesday': The Start Of A Holiday Tradition?

[prasad1]

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This post is for people who enjoy other cultures.

NPR :by PAM FESSLER

First, there was the post-Thanksgiving sales spectacle Black Friday and then the online version, Cyber Monday. Now, charitable groups want to start a new holiday tradition — it's called Giving Tuesday and the first one is tomorrow.


It may seem a little surprising that no one came up with the idea before of designating a specific day to help launch the holiday charitable giving season.


"I mean this is just brilliant, to just give everyone time to pause and think about what's most important at the holiday season," says Jyl Johnson Pattee, the founder of Mom It Forward. The online community of mothers is one of more than 1,400 groups participating in this year's Giving Tuesday. Local Mom It Forward groups will do volunteer projects to mark the event, and they plan to host a Twitter party that anyone can attend online.

Giving Tuesday is the brainchild of the 92nd Street Y, a nonprofit cultural and community center in New York. The group has an anonymous donor who will match contributions up to a total of $50,000.


Kathy Calvin runs the United Nations Foundation, a Giving Tuesday organizer. She says the goal is to get people to think about charitable giving in a different way.


Wish there was season like this in India, and an honest need based charity to help the needy.

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Prasad Sir,

There is no season for helping the needy in India. Any day is such a day!


In Sing. Chennai, at least a dozen persons approach us in a month, asking for help to conduct their daughter's wedding, son's

upanayanam or just because they are old and helpless. Though some people drive them branding them as 'gowrava pichchai'

many of us help. I am very sorry to say that most of them are brahmins. There are a few widows' associations, which collect

used clothes, shoes and as the like, along with a donation of money on regular basis from us. Whenever there is a flood or an

earthquake anywhere in India, some organizations arrange for door to door collection of materials and send them to the

needy. Have you not heard of people like Smt. Savithri Vaithi Ref: Smt. Savithri Vaithi , Sri. Vidyaakar, Ref: Udavum Karangal

and Sri. Narayanan Krishnan of Madurai who was chosen as one of the 'Top ten heroes' selected by CNN in 2010,

Ref: Narayanan Krishnan , to mention a few in Tamil Nadu?


FYI, many of the Tambrams have chosen to donate money to orphanages as a one time payment or every year on the

ShrAddham day of their parents, instead of doing the rituals at their residence. Regular 'anna dhAnam's are arranged in most

of the temples in Tamil Nadu and there is a separate 'Hundi' in each temple, to collect money from the devotees.

:thumb:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Indian concepts on donations and donating.

1. நன்றே செய் அதுவும் இன்றே செய்.

Do not postpone your good deeds.

Mind the monkey may change with time.

2. வலது கை கொடுப்பது இடது கைக்குத் தெரியக்கூடாது.

The left hand should not know what the right hand is donating.

Do not boast or publicize of your generosity.

3. வீண் விளம்பரம் செய்ய வேண்டாம்.

Publicity and paropakaaram do not go together.

Publicity boosts the ego while paropakaaram diminishes it.

4. Never judge / evaluate/ comment on things/ cultures / people

about which / whom your knowledge is limited or non existent.

 

[ozone]

Another piece of 'Ape the West' advice without proper homework !!!

It is sickening to hear this drilling for long ...

 

[prasad1]

Ms. Raji & Ms.Visalakshi,

I too have "read" the beautiful words before. The organized drive to collect donation, helps people who are not motivated otherwise.

Both of you are very well versed in the ways of the world, and have travelled round the world. You are not violently ant-american. Unlike some other posters. The culture of charity is spoken in every country and every religion, but actual actions are less visible.

Americans give record $295B to charity in 2006.
About 65% of households with incomes less than $100,000 give to charity, the report showed.


"It tells you something about American culture that is unlike any other country," said Claire Gaudiani, a professor at NYU's Heyman Center for Philanthropy. Gaudiani said the willingness of Americans to give cuts across income levels, and their investments go to developing ideas, inventions and people to the benefit of the overall economy.


Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7%. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73%, while France, with a 0.14% .

There is nothing wrong in learning from other cultures, and relearn from your own culture.
Like Avvaiyar said:
"Katrathu Kai Mann Alavu, Kallathathu Ulagalavu" has been translated as "What you have learned is a mere handful; What you haven't learned is the size of the world"


Avvaiyar Quotes


Be desirous of doing virtue.


It is the nature of anger to temper in time.


Never stop learning


Don't prevent charity (Always be charitable).


Avoid words that could hurt (Don’t boast of your possessions).


Don't give up perseverance.


Don't despise learning.


Acceptance (begging alms) is despicable.


Eat after donating (to the needy).


Act virtuously.


Don't give up reading.


Don't carry tales.


A good deed will pay back, as the coconut tree that gives the benefit holding on its head, for the water you pour in its feet.

 

[prasad1]

Another piece of 'Ape the West' advice without proper homework !!!

It is sickening to hear this drilling for long ...

It might be good if you peek out the mud hole and see the world. Jealousy will not get you too far in this world or in spiritual world.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

The money we donate may form a major part of our earnings /savings- though they appear small on the paper.

Then money donated by those who earn in Dollars and Pounds besides Francs
may appear large due to their conversion rates into indian rupees.

We are NOT anti-anything or anti-anybody. Hope the NRIs will not become anti-Indian either.

If you are so generous, so large hearted and so willing to donate with or without publicity,

let the money flow into India from abroad for the thousands of charity works, orphanages and

other organized major welfare projects.

Taking is one thing doing is another. And usually those who Do much do not have time to Talk much.

A mother is a mother - whether rich or poor,

whether highly civilized or rustic,

whether worthy of exhibiting proudly or not.

Stop comparing apples and oranges and casting mud on your own EX motherland!

We are sick and tired of this comparing and contrasting between dissimilar things.

Launching threads like rockets during Deepavali and taking care to see that they are all

controversial and anti-Indian in nature, is not going to help you in any way.

I never wanted to enter any thread - ever again.

But EVEN my patience has a limit.

Instead of glorifying your land here in our land, you may start condemning our land in your land.

You may get more favorable responses, since they will assume it is authentic - coming from the

horse's mouth.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

It might be good if you peek out the mud hole and see the world. Jealousy will not get you too far in this world or in spiritual world.

How can anyone who casts stones in the well he drank water from,
and insults his own motherland and everything associated with it,
prosper anywhere - in the material or the spiritual world???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Ms. Raji & Ms.Visalakshi,

I too have "read" the beautiful words before. The organized drive to collect donation, helps people who are not motivated otherwise.

Both of you are very well versed in the ways of the world, and have travelled round the world. You are not violently ant-american. Unlike some other posters. The culture of charity is spoken in every country and every religion, but actual actions are less visible.

Americans give record $295B to charity in 2006.
About 65% of households with incomes less than $100,000 give to charity, the report showed.


"It tells you something about American culture that is unlike any other country," said Claire Gaudiani, a professor at NYU's Heyman Center for Philanthropy. Gaudiani said the willingness of Americans to give cuts across income levels, and their investments go to developing ideas, inventions and people to the benefit of the overall economy.


Gaudiani said Americans give twice as much as the next most charitable country, according to a November 2006 comparison done by the Charities Aid Foundation. In philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product, the U.S. ranked first at 1.7%. No. 2 Britain gave 0.73%, while France, with a 0.14% .

There is nothing wrong in learning from other cultures, and relearn from your own culture.
Like Avvaiyar said:
"Katrathu Kai Mann Alavu, Kallathathu Ulagalavu" has been translated as "What you have learned is a mere handful; What you haven't learned is the size of the world"


Avvaiyar Quotes


Be desirous of doing virtue.


It is the nature of anger to temper in time.


Never stop learning


Don't prevent charity (Always be charitable).


Avoid words that could hurt (Don’t boast of your possessions).


Don't give up perseverance.


Don't despise learning.


Acceptance (begging alms) is despicable.


Eat after donating (to the needy).


Act virtuously.


Don't give up reading.


Don't carry tales.


A good deed will pay back, as the coconut tree that gives the benefit holding on its head, for the water you pour in its feet.

The long list of words of wisdom has hardly made a dent in many a dense domes.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Another piece of 'Ape the West' advice without proper homework !!!

It is sickening to hear this drilling for long ...

I am sure we all have heard the old adage

"Monkey see... monkey do!"

 

[prasad1]

How can anyone who casts stones in the well he drank water from,
and insults his own motherland and everything associated with it,
proper anywhere - in the material or the spiritual world???

Ms. Visalakshi,

Show me Insults to motherland in my post.......
This is nothing for or against India.
May be it is your guilty conscience which is pricking you. My comments were not directed at you, but may be it fits.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

If a poor man who earns ten rupees per day donates those ten rupees and goes to bed hungry, his donation is more valuable than the bags of gold coins given by those who live by sponging on the labor and sucking the blood of the others.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

படி மாவு தானம்.





பாரதப் போர் முடிந்த பின்னர்,
பார் புகழும் அசுவமேத யாகம்
நிகழ்த்தினான், பாண்டவர்களுள்
நிகரற்ற அரசருக்கு அரசன் தருமன்.

“இது போன்ற யாகத்தை யாருமே
இதுவரை கண்டதில்லை”, என்று
ஒருவர் விடாமல் புகழும் போது,
ஒரு சிரிப்பொலி கேட்டது அங்கே!

பாதி உடல் ஸ்வர்ணமயமான,
கீரிப் பிள்ளையே அங்கே சிரித்தது!
என்ன ஏது என்று அனைவருமே
பின் வாங்கித் திகைத்து நிற்கையில்,

“இதுவெல்லாம் ஒரு யாகம் என
இவ்வளவு புகழ்கின்றீர்களே!
ஒரு படி மாவு தானத்துக்கு
சரி சமமாகுமோ இந்த யாகம்?

ஊஞ்ச விருத்தி அந்தணர் ஒருவர்,
ஊரில் வாழ்ந்து வந்தார், தன்னுடைய
மனைவி, மகன், மருமகளுடன்,
மனத்தை உருக்கும் எளிய வாழ்க்கை.

பொறுக்கி வந்த தானியங்களைப்
பொடி செய்து நான்கு பங்காக்கி,
ஆறாவது காலத்தில் செய்வார்கள்,
ஒரு வேளை போஜனம் மட்டுமே.

ஒன்றும் கிடைக்காத நாட்களில்,
மறுநாள் வரை உபவாசம்தான்.
ஒரு நாள் ஒரு படி மாவைப் பங்கிட்டு,
ஒரு பொழுது உண்ண அமர்கையில்,

வந்தார் ஏழை அந்தணர் ஒருவர்,
வாடிய முகத்துடன், பசியுடனும்;
தன் பங்கை மனமுவந்து அவருக்குத்
தந்தார் ஊஞ்ச விருத்தி அந்தணர்.

பசி தீராததனால், பின்னர் அவர்தம்
பத்தினியும், மகனும், மருமகளும்,
தத்தம் பங்கு மாவையும் உவந்து
தத்தம் செய்ய, அவர் பசி தீர்ந்தது.

எந்தச் சிறந்த அசுவமேத யாகமும்,
எந்தச் சிறந்த ராஜ சூய யாகமும்,
ஈடு இல்லையே இந்த தானத்துக்கு!
பூமாரி பொழிந்தது, உடனே அங்கே!

சிதறிய மாவில் புரண்டதால், நான்
சிறந்த பொன்னிறம் அடைந்தேன்!
மறு பாதியையும் பொன்னிறமாக்க,
மாறி மாறி அலைகின்றேன் நான்!

பொன்னிறம் அடையவில்லை, என்
பொன்னுடலின் மறு பாதி, இங்கே!”
சொல்லி விட்டு விரைந்து மறைந்தது,
வில்லில் இருந்து விடுபட்ட அம்பெனவே!

தானம் என்பது பொருட்கள் அல்ல;
தானம் என்பது நம் மனோ பாவமே.
உவந்து அளிக்கும் கரியும், வைரமே!
கசந்து அளிக்கும் வைரமும், கரியே!

வாழ்க வளமுடன்,
விசாலாக்ஷி ரமணி.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

ASWAMEDA YAAGAM.

After the MahAbhAratha yudhdham,the PAndavAs performed an aswamEdha yAgam on a lavish scale. Everyone invited for the yAgam was praising it sky high.

They all were startled by the teasing loud laughter of a strange mongoose which was standing in the yAgasAlA.One half of its body was golden and the other normal.The mongoose spoke in a human voice!

“So you are congratulating the PAndavAs for the success of this yAgam.But I can tell you this is nothing in comparison to the dhAnam of one measure of flour given by a brahmin family in KurukshEtrA.

The head of the family was a poor uncha vruththi brahmin who lived with his wife, one son and his daughter in law.They used to pick the fallen grains from the fields, pound them to flour and share it equally for their single meal of the day. If they can’t find any thing, they just starve.

One day just as they sat down to share the measure of flour, there came a poor brahmin, hungry and tired.The head of the household offered him his share of the flour.

The guest was still hungry. Thereafter the wife, the son and the daughter in law also offered their shares of the flour.

A miracle happened then! Flowers rained from the sky and a golden vimAnam came down to take the family to Heaven. I rolled on the flour spilled on the ground and one half of my body became golden.

I am visiting every yAgasAlA ever since then, with the hope of making the other half of my body also golden-but in vain. Nothing has equaled the gift of the measure of flour by that family”

The crowd stood aghast. Gift is not a matter of the cost price, it is a matter of the attitude. A piece of charcoal presented with love and kindness is more precious than a diamond given with hatred and grudge.

எணà¯￾ணஙà¯￾களினà¯￾ வணà¯￾ணகà¯￾ கலவை | A rainbow of thoughts relating Mankind to God and the World.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Ms. Visalakshi,

Show me Insults to motherland in my post.......
This is nothing for or against India.
May be it is your guilty conscience which is pricking you. My comments were not directed at you, but may be it fits.

I too think in the same lines and hence am happy to return

your compliments with the interest due!

Enjoy while the going is good!!!

I have no need to prove anything to anyone.

 

[amala]

Another piece of 'Ape the West' advice without proper homework !!!

It is sickening to hear this drilling for long ...

If it sickens you that much, don't read the thread. Simples!

 

[prasad1]

I too think in the same lines and hence am happy to return

your compliments with the interest due!

Enjoy while the going is good!!!

I have no need to prove anything to anyone.

You are the one who blackmails with your constant threats, of leaving and coming back. You seem to enjoy the theater.
I am sure you did not read my post, or understand it.
Yes a poor man giving all his wealth is great, no one disputed it.
The larger charitable donation helps a larger demand.
I guess you did not understand the significance of your own story. What a waste of the meaning behind the story.

 

[prasad1]

If it sickens you that much, don't read the thread. Simples!

Very true.

 

[Raji Ram]

Dear Prasad Sir,

I do not like this kind of arguments. But since you asked for explanation, this post. In the OP you wrote:

It may seem a little surprising that no one came up with the idea before of designating a specific day to help launch the holiday charitable giving season.

Wish there was season like this in India, and an honest need based charity to help the needy.

I wrote already:

There is no season for helping the needy in India. Any day is such a day!

You are correct when you say

There is nothing wrong in learning from other cultures

But, we don't have to learn to help others only from other cultures!

We always welcome learning good aspects from other cultures. But to say that each and every good aspect

is found only in the West is a little too much to digest. hwell:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

You are the one who blackmails with your constant threats, of leaving and coming back. You seem to enjoy the theater.
I am sure you did not read my post, or understand it.
Yes a poor man giving all his wealth is great, no one disputed it.
The larger charitable donation helps a larger demand.
I guess you did not understand the significance of your own story. What a waste of the meaning behind the story.

1. Blackmail: The crime involving a threat for purposes of compelling a person to do an act against his or her will, or for purposes of taking the person's money or property.

Wonder what is there to extract from the look alike and live alike people of this forum!

2. I have been ON the stage rather than OFF it all my life. Those who need proof can just visit my photo album in the member's galleries.

I have danced, sung and played veena but NEVER acted in my real life.

3. Theater is to be enjoyed without setting fire to it - just for the kick of it.

4. When the mind is closed and double barred and when the eyes look at everything except reality nothing will ever be understood.

5. Yes! It is a waste of time talking to people who have set minds and set views.

6. So I am back to my more useful work namely blogging for the readers of the larger, more open minded, more friendly and the sprawling wide world.

I let one frog in a mud hole call the others similar names!

 

[C RAVI]

1. Blackmail: The crime involving a threat for purposes of compelling a person to do an act against his or her will, or for purposes of taking the person's money or property.

Wonder what is there to extract from the look alike and live alike people of this forum!

2. I have been ON the stage rather than OFF it all my life. Those who need proof can just visit my photo album in the member's galleries.

I have danced, sung and played veena but NEVER acted in my real life.

3. Theater is to be enjoyed without setting fire to it - just for the kick of it.

4. When the mind is closed and double barred and when the eyes look at everything except reality nothing will ever be understood.

5. Yes! It is a waste of time talking to people who have set minds and set views.

6. So I am back to my more useful work namely blogging for the readers of the larger, more open minded, more friendly and the sprawling wide world.

I let one frog in a mud hole call the others similar names!

:thumb:

 

[C RAVI]

The money we donate may form a major part of our earnings /savings- though they appear small on the paper.

Then money donated by those who earn in Dollars and Pounds besides Francs
may appear large due to their conversion rates into indian rupees.

We are NOT anti-anything or anti-anybody. Hope the NRIs will not become anti-Indian either.

If you are so generous, so large hearted and so willing to donate with or without publicity,

let the money flow into India from abroad for the thousands of charity works, orphanages and

other organized major welfare projects.

Taking is one thing doing is another. And usually those who Do much do not have time to Talk much.

A mother is a mother - whether rich or poor,

whether highly civilized or rustic,

whether worthy of exhibiting proudly or not.

Stop comparing apples and oranges and casting mud on your own EX motherland!

We are sick and tired of this comparing and contrasting between dissimilar things.

Launching threads like rockets during Deepavali and taking care to see that they are all

controversial and anti-Indian in nature, is not going to help you in any way.

I never wanted to enter any thread - ever again.

But EVEN my patience has a limit.

Instead of glorifying your land here in our land, you may start condemning our land in your land.

You may get more favorable responses, since they will assume it is authentic - coming from the

horse's mouth.

:thumb:

 

[C RAVI]

Another piece of 'Ape the West' advice without proper homework !!!

It is sickening to hear this drilling for long ...

What to do?? There are even many Indians living in India who all are behind "Ape the West" advices and adopting them.

They can not have the interest to explore how and to what degree generosity and philanthropy are exhibited by Indians living in still a devoloping country with lots of corruption and challenges.


These Indians are so mesmerized by the Western Word that they come to conclusion that India has to learn from the west. What an irony!!


The technological vibrancy and supremacy of the developed Western World has made these Indians blind and dumb.

Such people can think and talk anything BUT the life in India goes on with all its humanity values.

We should be happy that, in real world of India (unlike the cyber world like this one), sense of humanity with compassion are demonstrated in all its glory. And as Shmt.Raji Ram has rightly said, extensive and liberal charity are done not only during crises/natural calamities BUT on regular day-to-day basis.

 

[prasad1]

[h=1]Charitable giving by country: who is the most generous?[/h]
Charitable giving by country: who is the most generous?

The United Kingdom is the eighth most charitable nation in the world while the world's fastest growing major economies - China and India - rank among the least altruistic, the largest study ever carried out into social conscience reveals today.

Charitable giving by country: who is the most generous? Full data | Global development | guardian.co.uk

 

[manoharkumar]

Dear Friends,

Why we are loosing our cool... All the members contributing to this thread are veteran's contributing so much for the forum and its so many threads. Now that Mr.Prasad has given a backup for the thoughts he made thru his posts let us agree that western countries do more charity. Yes those charity is reaching the millions of our country as well as so many underprevileged masses of different world. In one of the programe of "minute to win" two girls from US told thatnthey would be donating their winnigs for the village they have adopted in India. Who will have such a big heart, unless if it is not in their culture. Let us appreciate that.
I am associated with Aid India and can say that the about five school going children from USA have donated and continue to donate for the poorest of the poor scholl going children of Kanchipuram district. Same way group of College going students of a chennai Engineering college adopted avillage for their charity work. So we also do if not thru money thru our manpower which is in abundence.
India is a huge nation and without the support of philanthropic minded groups individuals , Govt on its own cannot accompolish much. Thats why the no of NGO's are highest in India.
Large companies like Wipro/Infosys do allocate Crores for the upliftment of the poorest. So let us cheer for that and for the Charity done by the people (either NRI or others) of Rich nations.

Cheers.