We all know the warm fuzzy feeling when we give presents to those we love. Some people know the same feeling when giving to strangers – a cup of tea for a homeless person, an extra christmas present for a child in Ethiopia.
But did you know that giving to charity, either in cash, goods or time donated can also give you that same feeling of peace and well-being and can even have some health benefits?
“When you do something for someone else, your brain produces hormones,” says Dr David Hamilton, author of Why Kindness is Good for You ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYyNq6Ezs00 )
“Dopamine – which makes you feel happy, and gives you the feeling that what you are doing is right – and opiates, the body’s own secret stash of heroin and morphine.”
Last year, Cancer Research sponsored an article in the Telegraph highlighting the effects Dr Hamilton found and applied that thinking to Charity giving (see the link below for their article).
America has successfully used the ‘feelgood’ factor to generate donations for decades where as the UK has tended to focus on the cause and the need. In these current times of austerity and long-term economic uncertainty, never has your extra donation been needed more! Maybe now is the time for Fundraisers in the UK to look to this alternative view of fundraising?
We might as well, what harm is there in trying?
As the articles states, Audrey Hepburn once said, “You have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
