So far this month, the Community Chest of Korea has received a total of 93,139 calls on its automated number that collects donations. With each call raising W2,000, the Community Chest has raised W186.28 million (US$1=W1,364). That’s up 63 percent compared to the 57,114 calls made during the same period last year. This shows that despite the difficult economic conditions, more middle-class Koreans and those in lower income brackets have rolled up their sleeves to ease the pain felt by those who are in greater need.

But a lot more needs to be done. In the United States, each individual donates an average W1.13 million to charity, compared to just W100,000 in Korea. In the U.S., over 60,000 charity groups collected US$306.3 billion (around W428 trillion) in donations last year. The amount 15 charity groups in Korea raise each year is W500 billion. This is because many people have no idea where to go and how to go about giving even small amounts of money to charity. It is not an easy thing to personally visit orphanages or old people’s homes carrying just a few W10,000 bills.

First of all, the charities themselves should publicize the various methods and information on making donations so that people can find it easier to give. Some representative charities are: the Salvation Army (02-720-8250), Good Neighbors (02-6717-4000), The Beautiful Foundation (02-766-1004), Kids and Future Foundation (02-843-8478), Child Fund Korea (1588-1940), Korea Disaster Relief (02-3272-0123), Work Together Foundation (02-338-0019), while World Vision (02-2078-7000), UNICEF (02-723-8215) and Korea Food for the Hungry International (02-544-9544) offer a helping hand overseas as well.

It is also important to let people know how their donations are being used. Donors will feel double and triple the happiness if they learn how their donations were used, for example, to equip disabled people’s facilities with non-slip flooring materials or retirement homes with hearing aids. There is no need always to donate money. Many people visit retirement homes to offer their services bathing senior citizens. And there are housewives who take in children referred to them by district offices and form “group homes.”

People need to be educated at an early age to spread the message of giving throughout society. In the U.S., children are taught to raise money for the needy by selling sandwiches, cookies or lemonade at street stands. Our children, as well as adults in Korea, who have grown up without being educated about the need to give, must be shown the way to contribute. Mothers and fathers should take their children to orphanages and adults should visit retirement homes and help them pay for their heating bills, while alumni groups could visit senior citizens in need with presents instead of holding end-of-the-year parties. If such practices become a way of life, we will be able to overcome this crisis.