The text below has been copied from the ‘Junior information series’ by publisher Wolters Noordhoff.

Why charities? 

What is a good charity? There are a few answers to that question. That’s because every person defines a ‘good’ charity as something else. Maybe you think it’s great to donate money to help sick animals get better. But your friend may think that’s stupid. Donating money to a charity means that you’re helping someone or something else, without making your own life better.  

Charities are very necessary. Things are going wrong with the world. Animals are being mistreated and beaten. Forests are being cut down. People don’t have enough food to eat. Kids can’t go to school. People are sick, but there is no medication to help cure their disease. Or there are even big disasters. 

Charitable organizations

Charitable organizations exist to do something about these problems. These organizations contain groups of people who work together to give help, wherever it’s necessary. Help can be lots of things, like money, food, medication or a place to sleep. There are also organisations that do research to help cure a certain disease. They’re trying to find a medicine that will help people.

Charities for kids 

Our foundation ‘Help Laos’ is an organization that stands up for the rights of kids. Because each kid has the right to go to school and to be healthy. In some countries kids can’t go to school because the school is too far from their home. Or there aren’t any medicines for the kids. In Holland even little babies get vaccinations to make sure they don’t get measles or any other kids’ disease later on. In poor countries most kids don’t get these vaccinations. A lot of kids die of the diseases. ‘Help Laos’ is trying to do something about these problems. The staff makes sure that as many kids as possible get the vaccinations. We’re also building schools and making sure that a teacher goes to far off villages to educate the kids. This means that more kids will receive an education. 

Collecting money 

How do the charities get money? A charity has to make sure they receive money, just like a company. But they don’t sell anything or provide any services. That means that they have to get money another way. Like through gifts. This means that people book money over to the bank account of the charity. Through commercials the charities show people why the money is necessary and what it’s going to be used for. These commercials are shown on television and the internet and can be heard on the radio. The charities also post advertisements (small messages) in newspapers. They hope that people will donate money that way.  

Another way charities collect money is through contributors. Contributors are people who donate a certain amount of money to a charity every month or every year. Often they receive a magazine or newsletter from the charity which contains information about what was done with their donation.

Charities also get money by having people collect in the streets. People will then walk around with a collection tin. They also go from door to door to ask people to donate money to a charity. These people who collect money are called volunteers. They help collect money without being paid. People who work at the office of the charity often do get paid. The money that the volunteers collect is added to the bank account of the charity. 

Strict rules

You can’t just go and collect money in the streets. There could be people who want to keep the money for themselves. That’s not what collecting money is for. That’s why the charity needs a permit to collect money. The volunteers then get permission to collect. When they go door to door they can show people their permit. That way the people will know that the volunteers can be trusted.

Help for poor countries

There are many charities that try to help people in poor countries. These countries are called third world countries. The help that is offered to third world countries is called development projects. Most poor countries are far away from Holland, like Africa and Asia. In poor countries, people often don’t have enough money. This causes a lot of problems. Kids can’t go to school. People don’t have enough food. They live in the streets because they don’t have a house. Sick people don’t have medicines. These problems can’t be solved quickly. Help is needed for longer periods of time. If people don’t have enough water, it won’t be useful to give them water just once. That won’t solve the problem.

‘Help Laos’ is trying to help the problems in the long term. They are building wells so that people can get water from the ground. They are teaching people to set up their own company. That way they can make money.

What can you do?

Maybe you think: “What can I do? I don’t have a lot of money”. But there are still things you can do to help. You don’t have to be a millionaire to give something, because all little amounts help. If every person in Holland would donate a euro, you’d have more that 16 million euro’s! You can do anything to raise money. Like making music in a shopping street. Or selling old stuff in the street. Or baking yummy cookies and cakes and selling them in your neighbourhood. You can think up so many things. Our website has a few ideas as well.