I donate monthly to 3 local charities all of which i have seen grow
I will always help out my true friends if they needed help that goes without saying .

Toni, since you started this thread I would like to add a supplementary

Do you give based on whether the person has:-
a) brought hard times upon themselves or
b) done nothing wrong to justify their dire circumstances.

I will deliberately not quote from either (a) or (b) above but you don't need to look very far to find examples of both types.

A close friend who needed help I would do all that I could for. My family is always first in line. If I was physically able to help charities I would. I help the local hospital league of friends at their coffee mornings and I donate to the local animal shelter where we got Mo from.
So I suppose I do believe charity begins at home, yes

i remember being quite shocked myself!

i saw it in the times....it was a national charity not a local one...

I couldnt beleive it!

personally i would be more reluctant to help those who brought it on themselves....

I guess on the other front, I did many years work with RDA, taking disabled kids out and teaching them how to ride, also taken on a few dogs with iffy personalitys for rescues,,to re-train

thats really good, and its true you can help others in need without it being financially... but unfortunately when you jhave to work full time hours... it doesnt leave a lot of time to do voluntrary work.. its sad that the world we live in.. people have to work only if they are getting paid.. life is so expensive.

that's a really great way of helping out in a non-financial way.. being a student at the mo, I don't really have the funds to donate monthly, so i donated an offer of a pet portrait to a charity auction.. i also buy a lot from charity shops (now my room looks like one) and support charity events..

If it was a choice between helping a friend or helping my immediate family then I would help my family (if I could just help one of them).

I do some work for my local hospice (making jewellery for the to sell in their shop) because they helped me out a lot when I was really poorly.

A) I would give wether they brought it upon themselves or not.
The people I see getting out of car's are brought up from over the border or so we are told, Iwould give to anyone i think, but I don't like being pushed into it, i will ask and give people a choice if im collecting for something if people can't afford to give or don't want to it cost's nothing to wish that said person well or a wee prayer fro the said person, some people try as they might still find themselves in strife not of there own accord,
eg, being put out of there home, and having nothing or feeling like they've no-one, people in alsort's of prediciment's, but it doesn't always mean they got them selves there.

Even the wee old man on the street with a bottle in his hand needs help, alcholism maybe cost him his home and family yep we get frustrated at the amount of help people need, sometimes we get frustrated at them bringing it on themselves, but they need our help to get themselves out, I might have a good old moan sometimes but i feel strongly about helping someone who through no fault or there own/or through fault of there own have fallen on bad times when all it takes is a wee bit of help from us.