“Charity begins at home but should not end there.”- Francis Bacon
We’ve all heard the word philanthropy. At the same time, you’ve probably also heard the word charity. Much of the time, those two words are used interchangeably, but they’re different. Some of you may be baffled and wonder what the nuances between philanthropy and charity are.
Let’s start by looking at the definition of each.
Charity is an instant, sympathetic response to an incident in which an individual felt a moral obligation to help someone in need. For example, giving a guy food is a quick cure for a hungry person.
Philanthropy is a collection of long-term strategic efforts and commitment to finding a solution to and resolving, a problem in a specific aspect of society and human welfare.
Benefits to society from both:
- Helping everyone around you
- Listening to people and showing empathy
- Mentoring young people to build character
- Volunteering in the community to help others
- Donating blood to help individuals who are wounded or sick
- Joining community groups
- Supporting charity by donating time or money
- Teaching skills and benefiting society in that way
- Sharing your knowledge with others
- Helping the environment
Here are a few small ways we’ve helped here at CloudQ:
CloudQ has joined the Pledge 1% for corporate Philanthropy movement, which is dedicated to making the community key stakeholders in every business. By pledging employee time, CloudQ is demonstrating a commitment to philanthropic leadership.
As long-term philanthropy, CloudQ has proudly joined an amazing line-up of sponsors for a charitable event held by Access Life America that supports childhood cancer. CloudQ sponsored and participated in the Access Life America 5k for children’s cancer. This will benefit a local Atlanta non-profit and Access Life Cancer Care Centres in India, with a part of the revenues going to them. Our Team has participated with their loved ones and enjoyed themselves immensely. You can see the happiness on their faces in the photo. We were happy to participate in a good cause.
During the pandemic, CloudQ found many hungry individuals in and around the area of our India offices. As a result, we decided to feed the truly poor people who live on the streets. In these circumstances, we collaborated with Hope Foundation to provide food packs. When they received the food parcels, the pleasure on their faces was incredible. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only two members of our team, Subin and Shajith, were able to participate, but many of our team members showed an interest in taking part.
We haven’t stopped with these efforts, and we are planning to have a CSR committee in the near future. Management is planning for a lot of philanthropy. Philanthropic and charitable donations go a long way toward assisting non-profits and advancing social development. However, how you participate in charity is as essential as why you should.
When you take part in something to help someone else without expectations of anything in return except the good feeling you get, it touches a part of you that you can’t reach any other way. Humans were built to help their neighbors. It goes as far back as we can remember. One man couldn’t take down a mammoth on his own; it took several men working together. When a well needed to be dug, it could take one man six months or six men one month. After six months, the whole town might have died of thirst.
If a child was born, and the mother didn’t know how to care for it, mothers around her stepped in and gave advice or helped. They never expected to get anything in return besides another learning how to care for her baby.
This kind of community feeling, of helping when it’s needed, is an innate quality, and it doesn’t stop with humans. In the age of the internet, we’re so detached from one another, it has become its own kind of pandemic.
At CloudQ, we find pleasure in helping the people around us both with our donations and our participation. It feels good to make a difference.
If you’re finding yourself feeling blah, you may want to consider donating your time or effort to a local charity. Give to them without expectations, and you’ll reap the benefits of the good feelings you’ll get inside in return. It’s important to do for others because it makes you feel whole.
Even something as simple as holding a door for a stranger, sharing an umbrella when it’s raining, or helping an elderly person walk across the street or load their groceries in the car matter. Random, real acts of kindness go a long way to providing fulfillment.
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