Charity is one of the phenomena that distinguish the modern world from the world of the ancient times. Trying to help people in need, human beings demonstrate their being humane and understanding of the problems of others. However, there are people ready to take advantage of such a philanthropic activity as help to others, or charity. Numerous schemes and other illegal activities are created in order to get someone’s money and use them for private purposes instead of helping the suffering people. To avoid such situations, every person deciding to donate a certain sum of money to a certain organization should monitor the market in order to find out whether this organization is clear and legal in its essence, and whether the money this person will donate will be actually used for help to those who need it. Therefore, this report is the advice to Martina Lopez in her search for a reliable organization to donate ₤5 million to.
To begin with, it is necessary to state that charitable organizations, or charities, are subject to public scrutiny nowadays. The example of the Crescent Relief, whose activities were investigated by The British Charity Commission as for its alleged relation to the organization of airline crashes and blows, is rather important (Timmons, 2006). To avoid donating money to the organization having the reputation of the kind, it is necessary to take a brief look at such charities as British Diabetic Association and British Institute of Learning Disabilities, as they both deal with the vital social issues of today under the control of the UK Government.
The former organization is busy helping people suffering from diabetes. This disease is a burning issue of today as far as over 2% of the current population of the United Kingdom are affected by it. The illness is all about the digesting processes in the human organism, which are carried out through the production of insulin hormone:
People who don’t have diabetes produce insulin naturally to maintain constant blood glucose levels – neither too high or too low. Diabetes is the result of impaired pancreatic function where production of insulin is either limited or ceases altogether (British Diabetic Association, 2009).
Moreover, diabetes can result in a number of accompanying diseases including blindness, dysfunction of kidneys, etc. Therefore, understanding the seriousness of the issue, British Diabetic Association fights with it as hard as it can. Thus, the strong points of the organization include first of all the fact that it sponsors research in diabetes treatment. Secondly, it funds the development of clinics for people suffering of the disease. Thirdly, it attracts public attention to the issue and welcomes charitable donations to develop its help. Nevertheless, the weak points are also present in British Diabetic Association’s work, including the lack of publicity and the narrow scope of its activity which is limited by governmental programs (British Diabetic Association, 2009).
As for the British Institute of Learning Disabilities, it is a non-profit organization dealing with the problems that people with either mental or physical disabilities face in their study, career development, personal and social lives: “The British Institute of Learning Disabilities is working to improve the lives of people in the UK with a learning disability” (BILD, 2009). The major advances of this organization in the scope of the whole country include the work on the public introduction of the problem of people with learning disabilities, training of people without disabilities in respect of their actions and behaviors concerning the ones with disabilities, etc. One of the major aims of the Institute nowadays is the research on how people with disabilities can be included in the vital processes like decision making, planning, etc. The strong points of this charity include its work on focusing public attention on the learning disabilities issues, training of families and staff using the inclusion of people with learning disabilities in this training. The British Institute of Learning Disabilities also funds the publishing of the results of its work and reports the public on the major achievements of its and on the future goals (BILD, 2009).
Thus, the organization’s work is transparent and government-controlled. However, the weak points of its work include the little time of its development and lack of outside funding. In more detail, the Institute has been founded in the middle of the 20th century and is funded mainly by the Government. Accordingly, the donation Martina Lopez plans to make will be of great use for the charity’s development and will be used as intended.
Nevertheless, there are social issues that demand more governmental and public attention but lack both nowadays. It goes without saying that the issues of educational opportunities for people from poor families are considered at the highest levels of the legislative and executive power. Nevertheless, the current situation when the majority of poor students have to study where they can afford to but not where they choose to is problematic. For the purpose of fighting this issue, the charitable organization Easy Learn has been created in the United Kingdom. The main sphere of activity of this non-profit non-governmental organization is to help the poor students whose educational levels and intellectual capabilities exceed the average ones but they cannot afford paying for the study in the best colleges and universities of the country.
The major strong points of the work of this organization include its transparency and publicity, cooperation with the number of educational establishments around the country and abroad, and presenting the students from families with any income level or wellbeing rate with the opportunities to study in the colleges and universities in which their knowledge allows them. The weaknesses of this organization include its little promotion due to the short term of its mere existence and the possible lack of public knowledge and trust in Easy Learn.
Nevertheless, it can be strongly recommended to Martina Lopez to donate her money to one of the three organizations mentioned. The first two charities are government controlled and socially-oriented in their attempts to solve human issues, while the third one, Easy Learn, deals with the problem of poverty and education, which lack governmental and public attention today. Providing poor people with opportunities to study and develop their talents could facilitate the solving of the two issues with which British Institute of Learning Disabilities and British Diabetic Association. Donating money to each of the organizations is sure to be an effective and socially useful step by Martina Lopez, and her choice must be based on the issues that she considers to be more important for the humanity at this very moment.
Works Cited
BILD. “Introduction.” British Institute of Learning Disabilities. 2009. BILD. Web.
British Diabetic Association. “What’s It All About?” 2009. British Diabetic Association. Web.
Timmons, Heather. “British Study Charitable Organization for Links to Plot.” New York Times. 2006: A3.