August 1, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Is it wrong for parents hosting birthday parties for their children to ask guests to give money to charity in lieu of neatly wrapped gifts?
A recent New York Times article suggests that the practice might actually turn off children to giving later in life.
But the anonymous author of The Nonprofiteer sees little downside.
In fact, she accuses the Times of being a party pooper.
“Making fun of rich people is great sport; the Nonprofiteer relishes it herself,” the blogger writes. “But making fun of rich people for being generous rather than stingy (the ‘John Edwards is rich so he can’t really care about poverty’ school of analysis) is just (sniff) tacky.”
The writer says incorporating giving into memorable events such as birthdays can help children learn the value of helping others and develop habits that will last a lifetime.
“If you tell a 4-year-old that birthdays are a time for cake, ice cream and doing something nice for other people, that’s how they’ll understand birthdays,” she writes. “ And if they feel at all deprived, it’s no worse than the way diabetic kids feel when excluded from cake and ice cream; and, just like diabetic kids, they’ll get over it.”
Do you agree? Is birthday-party charity a trend that will help indoctrinate the next generation of donors — or does it run the risk of turning off future donors? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
