people asking for donations on the street always bother me. i just don't know how to respond. i feel bad if i turn away. i feel too uneasy to give generously.
i was watching how people purposely walked to the side, to avoid this lady carrying one of those plastic donation boxes - people are in a rush, they don't want to be guilted into something, and they don't want to be bothered.
even though, they're usually only asking for HK$20, maybe HK$50 at most?
so, it's not very effective. unless you're really pretty, look like you really need help, very old, or very young. anything in between is not going to work. what do you do instead? direct mail? start a social network? do the "give you something for free and hope they return the favor"?
but then... are these kinds of things more for the volunteer to feel that they've done something, more than actual "results"?
perhaps a tribe of like-minded people at the end of the day is the only true answer. what if i'm not rich and i'm nobody, and nobody cares about what i think? aren't there other people like me? easier to find them than to try to get in some rich circle, right?
the people who are already doing something, they have too much to do already. the people who aren't doing anything aren't really inclined to, or they simply lack the time and resources to.
