What do €4 million buy?

This year’s edition of L-Istrina raised more than €4 million. This sum, a record since the first edition of the charity fundraiser in aid of the Community Chest Fund was held 18 years ago, buys a lot of faith, hope and charity for those who are going through a difficult time.

For those on the giving end who donated generously – many, from all walks of life – it also buys a sense of achievement and a warm feeling that will see us through this new year.

For years, behavioural scientists have studied the reasons why we give money to charity. The reasons vary. We donate because we are altruistic and feel responsible for contributing to the social good or simply because a charitable action makes us feel good.

The positive influence of others is also a key element. Giving is contagious and seeing others being generous makes us dig deep into our pockets. Friends, family and even the endorsement of a charity by a bankable media personality inspire us tobe charitable.

Giving is also a fundamentally social act: by donating money we become part of the collective achievement of raising funds and breaking records.

We are also a charitable nation. The 2015 edition of the CAF World Giving Index, published by Charities Aid Foundation, a leading international charity registered in the UK, places Malta in 12th place. This tiny island also ranks third in the top 10 countries for donating money to a charity.

In the five-year World Giving Index, Malta features in the 11th place, with an especially high score of 72 per cent in donating money, an average score of 45 per cent in helping a stranger and a low score of 25 per cent in volunteering time.

This is a remarkable feat for a country with a population of less than half a million and, especially, when considering that we score higher than richer countries such as Norway, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

As already mentioned above, being charitable also makes us feel good. The fulfilling after effects of weeks of Christmas shopping, partying and laughter with friends, a heavy Christmas lunch and the sense that, however it may have been, another year is ending all contribute to making us feel altruistic.

Much like the mince pies and honey-glazed carrots, being charitable has become part of the menu of Christmas rituals. It’s the seasonal pat on the back for doing a good deed.

Whatever the means that make us donate, ultimately, they justify the end. However, the €4 million raised in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund via the annual televised charity marathon should not be an end.

First, the hundreds of thousands of euros raised should not be the proverbial fish that feeds the poor. A substantial part of that money should be invested in research and in helping to find long-term solutions for health and poverty issues that thousands of people face every day.

Second, being charitable should not be the knee-jerk reaction to the general, feel-good Christmas feeling. Being charitable should be an all-year effort rather than a cameo, walk-on part.

And having strong and kind feelings towards those who are in need should not be cleared away with the leftover turkey and Christmas cake.

In the new year, let us continue to be charitable by donating money but we must also contribute some of our time, thoughts and feelings for friends, family and even strangers.