Letter from Boston Fund Raising By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
募金 アメリカでは、ボランティアやチャリティー活動がたいへん盛んです。また、自分で活動しなくても、寄付を通じて、チャリティーなどの企画に貢献することができます。寄付自体は善意からくる行為ですが、時折、その裏にさまざまな個人的感情が見え隠れすることがあります…。

I know many people who have done volunteer work at some point in their lives. There is no limit to the kind of volunteer work that one can do. Volunteers work in hospitals and homeless shelters, in public schools and libraries, and in fancy museums and concert halls.

Many people do charitable works because they feel that it is their duty as a responsible member of society, but even less serious people often find a way to contribute.

Volunteering is often considered almost a fun thing to do. The content can be interesting, it can help add meaning to one's life, it can be a social event — and it doesn't look bad on a resume, either.

There is another element of charity that is also quite conspicuous in the States. This is fund raising. Donating money sounds practical and detached, and it doesn't seem as noble as working in the trenches as a volunteer. However, the fact of the matter is, money talks, and people often speak up by writing checks to the organizations of their choice.

Since people are willing to give only a limited amount of money to charity, many organizations "compete" for donor dollars. Ever since I left Wellesley, I've gotten periodic letters and phone calls from the college asking for donations.

I've gotten entreaties from the Boston Ballet and other local arts organizations, and some Asian American organizations as well. One of my roommates recently participated in a fund-raising event in which he asked his friends and acquaintances to donate money for AIDS research. A Turkish classmate of mine sent e-mail to the entire department asking people to donate money to the Red Cross for earthquake relief.

Although giving money to a charity seems to be a positive thing, it's often the case that people are critical of who gives what to whom. Perhaps this is because the philanthropists one reads about in the paper tend to have a lot of power, and average people doubt their motives for giving away part of their wealth away (Some may ask, do they just want to see their names engraved in a building?). They also feel that the privileged should "give back" to the community that has supported them.

Bill Gates, who has been long criticized for not being charitable enough, has recently started donating large sums of money. It seems that the public is monitoring his every dollar. He was criti cized for donating large sums to his alma mater, Harvard, since that institution is already well endowed. He has since pledged money to less privileged institutions.

Although fund-raising events that are reported in the media tend to be glittery parties for the elite, the reality is nowhere near as glamorous. Even people without trust funds find ways to donate money.

New Englanders are not known as bleeding hearts, and a recent survey has revealed that although the average income level in this region is quite high, people here are among the least likely to contribute to charity. I don't know whether this is because they are more stingy than people in other regions. They may simply be more honest.

This particular survey looked at tax returns to see how much people contributed to charity. People write off their contributions so they can get deductions. For in stance, a person might donate an old car and then deduct the market value, whether they would actually be able to sell it at that price or not. But people who don't want to go through all the paperwork of making deductions often don't even report their donations.

There are always complex emotions involved in the giving and taking of money, and fund raising is not exempt from these emotions. In certain religions, it is considered an obligation, not just optional charity, to help the disadvantaged. Even though there are many good causes, some are considered better than others. may argue that it's morally superior to donate money for cancer research than for the study of ancient musical instruments, and for famine relief rather than for college football stadiums. In the end, I think people give money to the causes that personally mean something to them. I don't think this is bad: This is what keeps the donors truly interested in the cause.

Shukan ST: Oct. 8, 1999

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