Fundraising, charities and nonprofit organizations are all about helping other people not as lucky as ourselves. This is neither a Swiss nor an American thing, it’s a humane thing.
The school systems in both Switzerland and America also encourage doing good for others. My school-time charity organization was the ‘March of Dimes’ and Ben’s was ‘Pro Juventute’.
March of Dimes
This nonprofit organization was founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its object was to combat polio. After the discovery of the polio vaccine, it adopted the mission to improve the health of mothers and babies.
I participated in our high school walk-a-thon for the ‘March of Dimes’ several times. There was a walking route with a set distance. First we went door to door and got pledges per mile. Then, on the set date we would walk the course. Afterwards we collected the pledges for the number of miles walked. We gave the money to the school who sent it to the March of Dimes. I don’t know why it always rained when we walked, but it didn’t stop us!
Pro Juventute
This Swiss organization was founded in 1912. Similar to the March of Dimes it was originally set up to fight a disease, not polio but tuberculoses. The foundation has changed its focus a couple of times. In 1926 they added ‘helping’ Yenish children get a stable home life to their program. They did this by forcefully removing almost 600 children from their families and putting them into ‘normal’ families. After a lot of pressure from the media and general public, this practice stopped in the 1970’s. Today Pro Juventute stands for supporting the rights and needs of Swiss children.
Since 1913 the Swiss post office has issued a Pro Juventute charity stamp. They also raise money with the help of schools. Ben remembers vividly selling stamps for Pro Juventute in school.
Selling Stamps
When Ben was in 5th grade the class was sent out in pairs to collect orders for stamps. The idea was the students put order-envelopes in mailboxes and pick the orders up later. The correct number of ordered stamps were distributed to the pupils who then fill their envelopes with the individual orders. The pupils then brought them to the people who had ordered them and the money was collected. Easy enough.
Well, no. In contrast to many in his class, Ben and his designated partner were assiduous about collecting orders. They had more stamp orders than everyone put together and distributing them correctly took time. The rest of the class was finished filling theirs in an instant. The teacher, somewhat perturbed with the delay, reprimanded Ben and his partner in front of the whole class. To help things move faster he ordered all the other pupils to help the slowpokes fill their envelopes. When that was finally finished the envelopes were distributed to the houses.
It didn’t take long before the complaints started pouring in. Some people got more stamps than ordered, others didn’t get enough. Total confusion and hassle ensued. Of course Ben and his partner got another scolding for being so incompetent.
Fact is, to this day Ben isn’t a big supporter of Pro Juventute. Certainly not because of what they do or stand for. But because, well… There has to be a moral to this story somewhere.
Helping Others
As I mentioned in my January 19th, 2017 post under ‘Question – what are you doing for others’ there is a website that can help you decide what organizations you might want to donate to or not. ZEWO is an umbrella organization that certifies charities. Unfortunately, the site is mainly in German, but there are bits in English. I have since found this link to charities in the States.
Although the Christmas season seems to be the height of the charity season, people need help year around. If you are thinking about donating but aren’t sure how, I got these 5 tips from the ZEWO Foundation website. They might help you.
- Donate to only a few projects, but ones that mean something to you.
- Choose an organization that has transparency, ethics and integrity.
- The longer you give to your charity, the better. Don’t let it be a onetime thing.
- Don’t let yourself be pressured into a contribution. Be informed. There are dubious organizations out there who will gladly take your money.
- Sponsoring a child may seem like the perfect way to help, but that helps only one child. A project or theme sponsorship is a much better way to go.
Ben and I no longer donate to the March of Dimes or Pro Juventute but to other causes we believe in. We hope that somehow we can make a difference.
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