So what?

I’m all for charity, charitable donations and all that makes the less fortunate world go round.  However I have always had an ‘efficiency’ problem with certain charitable activities - namely the ones that sound more like ‘personal’ challenges than charitable events.

I’m referring of course to the Kilimanjaros of this world, the Life Cycles, and most recently Nathan Farrugia’s attempt to run 27 marathons in 27 days across 27 European countries.

As soon as I hear about yet another one of these over the top efforts to raise money for charity, my logical side goes into overdrive, and though my mathematical skills are not my forte I can very easily work out that the human effort that is put into these things, plus the initial expenses, do not in any way outweigh the final amount collected.

But do they justify it I ask?

Let’s take Life Cycle for instance. It costs the participants a couple thousand Euro to start off with. This money is used to buy their flight tickets, transportation, basic needs and equipment whilst overseas.

Each participant raises this money individually, and starts training four to five months before. In the last few weeks, training can take up between four to six hours a day.

With about 25 participants taking part in this challenge every year, not to mention a back-up team of about 10 people, you can easily work out how many hundreds of hours of effort are being put into this one cause, not to mention the total initial expense that is put down to make it happen.

So, does the amount raised at the end of the day justify all this?

I couldn’t for the life of me, find the amount that was raised this year, but after searching the web and the press in vain, I still decided on a YES.

Yes it is worth it, because humans are not selfless in nature, and there is no way that you will get anyone to do anything unless they have a personal interest in the matter.

Whether it is because they are personally interested in the cause because like me, they have a relative who will one day need it, whether it’s because they are diehard athletes who need to challenge themselves to the limit every chance they get, or whether (like Nathan) they are also the CEOs of the charity they are running for, it’s all about personal interest and motivation.

Let’s not kid ourselves, personal interest is the only thing that keeps us going, and personal satisfaction is what keeps us giving. We give because it makes us feel good and no matter how we try to rationalize it in our heads, it all boils down to that feel good factor that hits us every time we donate a few cents to charity, run a marathon, or help an old lady cross the street.

Whether it’s donating money, time, limbs, or all of these put together, we do it primarily for ourselves. If at the same time, our personal interest ends up helping a good cause then we also get the added bonus of being hailed heroes for a while.

So, if you’re reading this and nodding in agreement, here’s what will help you feel good at this very moment….

Nathan Farrugia is currently attempting to run 27 marathons in 27 days in aid of Inspire. It’s a challenge that’s never been done before and as mad and self-mutilating as it sounds, he’s now at the half way mark and has raised more than €20,000.

Whether he would have raised more than this by just throwing a good party or a cake sale is a question that begs to be asked, but the answer is quite simple really - whilst a party could probably raise as much money, it certainly would not raise as much awareness for the cause, and, most importantly, a party is not what personally motivates Nathan who is a self-declared and proven diehard athlete.

So if like me, you read about Nathan’s challenge and squirmed. If like me, you thought that this is just another attempt to hit the press and come across like some sort of a hero, think again and ask yourself  ‘so what?’

Now go forth, donate and feel good.

All detailed information including a very candid daily blog from Nathan himself is available on www.27challenge.com <http://www.27challenge.com/>. In Malta people can donate by SMS on donation numbers 50618080 for €4.66 or 50619215 for €11.65, or through the 27challenge website.