Question:
try Guess Man.
edited: sorry. ADD is acting up.

Answer:
Originally Posted by G Man How about giving that 200 dollars you would spend on fancy cologne to some children who don't have SOAP to even bathe in.
I don't work as of now, but I am using what I had saved up from my previous job, so I can't really afford to donate money...
But in all seriousness...does smelling EXTRA nice for a couple hours even come close to putting a smile on a poor child's face?
I have been to 2 3rd world countries with my family, and when I even gave kids a 1 dollar candy bar or a few coins, they would be all lively and happy. Priceless...
Come on. That cologne will disapear soon enough and the smell will fade away. You can always buy it anytime somehow someway. But YOU WILL NOT forget the smile of a poor child that you probably will only see once in your life...you can't take that moment back. Whoa G Man, this is WAY the wrong place to say this. That'd be like telling art enthusiasts that they're vain for buying a Matisse. We support the art because we fear it is dying, and one of the most important signs of civilization is art. Look at how big the college of Arts and Science is at any college. It's the biggest one at almost all of them.
Yes, we spend a lot. Children are suffering even here in the US. Are we vain? Yes. Does that mean we should change? No. If you were so concerned, you wouldn't have bought your colognes, you would have sent that money to children. If you were so concerned, you wouldn't have bought a computer and internet service. If you were so concerned, you wouldn't spend the money you do on clothes, limiting yourself to only a meager few items. If you were so concerned, you wouldn't be a member here. That doesn't make our selfish spending right, but it may open your eyes to the hypocrisy of your words. It's just the wrong place to post this. Try asking Bill Gates to give more than a few thousand dollars of his vast fortune to charities. You'll have a better chance of helping out those children.
- Rich

Answer:
I volunteer at libraries and local children's festivals. I don't sit on my chair here all the time.. I CAN HAVE hobbies outside of "if i was so concerned" about poor kids. I didn't say DEDICATE your life, I SAID give some money. My family and I give a decent amount of money to charity and to foster homes each week, so don't call me a hypocrite.
on topic.
BUY SOME OLD SPICE.

Answer:
TRUE charity work is done in silence by the giver. G-Man what you do is nice, but here is no place to voice it.

Answer:
Originally Posted by mstrocovie TRUE charity work is done in silence by the giver. Right on!

Answer:
G-man, you're just upset tonight. Many of us, probably all of us, do give money to charities and do volunteer work. We also nurture ourselves, and we choose to do this through the beauty and art of fragrance. It's vital to take care of ourselves, so that we may stay strong and healthy to be able to care for others.
We keep a balance in our lives, so we can go the distance.
Think of it as like an air emergency, where you are instructed to place the oxygen on yourself first, and then help your child get on his.
The point is, if you pass out--there won't be anyone there to help the child at all.
The world is frustrating, though, I'll give you that.

Answer:
G-Man:
I read your original post on the Mens Fragrance Forum earlier this evening, that you removed, and it had me thinking. You made a good point: we have to put this hobby, as with any hobby, in perspective. We can't be so absorbed in fragrances, or stamp collecting or fly fishing, or whatever, that we miss the point that there are others in need. I hope that everyone on this Forum is active in some social or charitable activity, and it is your perfect right to post in the "off topic" forum your concerns about the needs of others. The problem is that the situations of the needy in the Third World are so intractable that there seems to be so very little one can really do to solve those problems. Not to put too fine a point on it, whether we can give a few dollars to make one child happy for a short time is not much in the big scheme of things. But I don't under value the importance of trying. I admire you for the work you are doing, and the care you are giving to the needy, and I may join you one day when I retire, but that doesn't mean that I will give up other interests, or that hobbies or interests are by comparison wholly unworthy. But seeing that you removed your post; and rethought where you put it; and came back here; I will pledge to match what I believe is your "good faith" in your post, and will give a dollar-for-dollar contribution to a cause that you feel would make a difference in the lives of children in poor countries from now until Easter, if you can direct me- - either by a post here or a PM. I hope others will do the same. My charitable work has been in other areas, and I really don't kown what organizations are doing good work and not just charlatans stealing from the well-meaning. You let me know.
Thank you for your post.
Joe
PS I still may buy Lanvin L'Homme, but I'll match that amount!

Answer:
Let's not forget using my discretionary income on fragrances helps to employ quite a few people all over the world. From UPS truck drivers, to internet fragrance retailers, dock workers, ships at sea, the fragrance manufacturers, the people that harvest all that vetiver and patchouli I spray so liberally. Then there is the marketing, the bottleing, the labeling etc and so forth. Seems like a pretty good return on that $60 burning a hole in my pocket.

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Chartiy begins at home. Many feel all others are but an extension of that family. I have mixed feelings about the sources of charitable gifts being displayed for public view and admiration before, during and after the fact, as in the naming buildings, making of donor lists, titling endowments etc. to honor the principal giver(s), although I suspect the organizing committees may be responsible for some of that, but if the end result is to be achieved, the acquisition of funds/items/time for the less fortunate, it seems a necessary 'evil'. And then again who am I to judge another's motives for giving?

Answer:
Actually, while people are on their soapboxes.. I just thought I would toss my two scents in.
The charity movement itself is nothing more than a band-aid solution to ever-increasing problems. Often charity is more about allowing the donor to "pat himself on the back and get warm fuzzies" then it is about making structural societal changes.
If people 'really' want to make a difference, they should start mobilizing groups of people to push for law changes, additional government intervention, and so on.
I can't agree more that money can help a starving family get through a week, but what about the next week..or the week after that. Where are the opportunities for these people to actually get out of their bondage to the state and its underwhelming lack of resources. Why are the dregs in the back of our cupboards (that are no longer good enough for us) good enough for others? Sorry, the whole charity concept really frustrates me... in its disconnection to the larger scale "causes" for lack of housing/food.
Give people a "little" and it will keep placated enough to demand more (is the actual governmental purpose of institutions like food banks and so on). In terms of volunteer work - it's a very noble endeavor, but a lot of corporations and organizations end up cutting corners on "hiring" qualified staff, because they can lean on volunteers for support. This in terms makes finding jobs harder for people who have qualifications and should be paid to do the work that is often being pushed off on volunteers. For example, "Why should we offer to pay an annual salary of $50,000 to this individual, when we can just patch volunteers together to cover the responsibilities". Of course, this isn't always the case. Many organizations' budgets are stretched to the max, and their lifeblood is the generosity of other peoples' time and energy. I just hate the idea of people missing out on work opportunities, because volunteers are being used unscrupulously.
Anyway, I'm just trying to articulate the other side of the coin. I'm sure many of you already know these aspects but it has not yet been addressed, so I thought I'd take the nod.
For the record, I think that judging other peoples' spending habits is arrogant. Who are we to judge, really?
a.