I told you lot I’d be back. And here I am, starting with a
mini rant! As some of you may be aware, there’s an English footballer called
David Beckham. Mr Beckham is an icon to many, whether it be for his footballing
skills and accolades, his fashion sense and ability to wear anything and look
good, or THAT advert.
This morning, I woke up to news that Beckham had signed for
Paris Saint Germain for 5 months and would donate all of his salary to a local
children’s charity. WOW! This made me do a happy cry. A reported £150,000 per
week to a charity. It blows my mind that somebody would something so selfless.
What shocked me was the negativity that some people feel
towards his decision. How can there be anything but positivity surrounding this
situation? I’m looking at this from a layperson’s perspective so I admit, I may
be missing something. Here’s some of what I saw:
·
He’s doing it to avoid the tax.
Erm, no he’s not. He’s only there for 5 months and isn’t eligible
for the French tax system.
·
That amount is nothing to him.
So, somebody chooses to donate their salary for 5 months to
a charity and it’s nothing? It doesn’t matter about his wealth, he will be
working for free for those months. Yes, he gets an income from sponsorship
deals, but he will be doing his job for free. For 5 months. How many people
would choose to do that? Plus, the amount he’s donating will make a difference
to the charity – that’s the important thing, surely?
·
He should donate to a British charity.
Should he? Is there something in our heritage that states
that we are only able to give our money to charities based in the country we
were born in? A local Parisian charity is benefitting from somebody’s generosity.
I’ll take some words out of that sentence. A charity is benefitting. Why do
people have a problem with this?
·
Lots of people do the same and remain anonymous.
That is their choice. I’m not taking away from what anybody
does. That people to donate to charity is a wonderful thing. David Beckham is a
huge name all over the world. Imagine the publicity and coverage that charity
will get from this, raising awareness for their cause. They won’t need to spend
money on marketing.
I’ve recently had a really lovely experience with a small
charity. I got in touch with them, after learning about their cause, in December.
The ladies at the charity were grateful for my support and contact but, as it
was almost Christmas, asked me to make sure I felt able to donate as much as I
wanted to, every month. A charity had taken my needs in to
consideration. When does that happen? I’m used to getting calls from larger
charities I already donate to, asking me to give more. I contacted these ladies
last week and said I was setting up my direct debit. Their gratitude was enough
to bring me to tears. (Yes, okay, that seems to be quite easy!) They’ve invited
me to go and see them when I visit Liverpool, in March, for a cuppa and a chat.
Because they’re so thankful that I am behind their cause. In my experience, a
larger charity has never invited me in to their office for a cuppa, even after
I’ve agreed to donate more over the telephone, having received one of their
calls.
My point is, it doesn’t really matter where the money is
going or the reason. A person has decided to donate some money to charity.
There is no negativity here. We should be humbled that a great cause benefits
from somebody’s generosity. A selfless act. Mr David Beckham, props to you! x
