There was no obvious public entrance. I looked in and looked up at the ostentatious, gold-leafed ceiling and wondered about the history of this place.

I’m guessing that Clark is being the change that he wants to see in the world (and I want to commend him for that) but the bottom line is that most of us benefit from poverty. Clark exists among many, many more like him who share his background and who have had similar life experiences, who will never spurn that access and who will do whatever is necessary to ensure that those privileges remain inexorably intact. Clark can return to it whenever he chooses to.

Let’s be honest about the extent of our poverty, its origins and design. Having a friendly conversation on our blogs about poverty is easier when there is an immediate threat to your own personal sense of well-being (or to alleviate that occasional twinge of guilt) rather than taking a hard look at poverty’s structure and foundation with the intention of undoing it. We’ve been here before and, yet, look around at where we are …

I work at a homeless women’s shelter, and I have to say that THE BEST, the most efficient thing you can do to help people in need is to DONATE MONEY to a non-profit organization/charity that you believe to be well run. Seriously, the biggest challenge we in the charity world face is the lack of money to run programs, lack of money to hire competent people and get stuff done… Sure, ‘throwing money at the problem’ alone isn’t going to help… that’s why I stress that you really should look into whether charities are run transparently and efficiently before deciding to give. But the gift of money is probably the most sorely needed and gratefully received.

Needless to say, even if you can’t give money (I am ironically in the position of not being able to give much because I make so little working at a nonprofit.. haha), every little bit helps, whether you can volunteer your time or goods. Another really big point I want to make here is: PLEASE think twice about giving away boxes of clothing. Don’t get me wrong; clothes are really important, especially cold weather clothes and such, but people seem to think that they can just throw away piles of dirty, smelly, frankly ugly and totally-last-decade clothes and call it an act of charity. (Um, needy people have standards, too.) Giving away clothes sometimes creates even more a burden for the organization than it helps them… check with the group you want to give to.

Thank you for this article!

The HAVE’s really need to help out the HAVE NOT’s. Pass along the no longer wearing business suit and shirt so a man or woman may look a bit polished when applying for a job. Offer money to a park district for the after school program to assist parents who are working for a small paycheck.

There are ways to help without having to do it “in person”…cash donations are always welcome, but it’s the people like Clark who are the true heroes in my book.

i hope it encourages our readers to donate to a charity of their choosing.

I have picked a few charities I am passionate about, and have set up automatic monthly giving in small amounts. It allows me to budget the money over time, and at year’s end its a nice size gift! It also means I don’t have to remember to give.

Thanks as ever for a great post and a great blog!