Editorial: Finding charity tough choice

Amy Wiggins.

There are so many charities and events competing for our support these days that you have to be selective in what you donate to.

I now not only base my decision on the charity but on the method of fundraising.

I've seen people pledge a skydive in return for donations to a charity or decide to walk the length of the country.

I'd consider sponsoring someone to do a skydive if they were genuinely terrified of heights, otherwise you're really sponsoring them to tick something off their bucket list.

The same can be said of walking the length of the county. If the person is actively raising awareness for the cause at the same time, I'd get behind it. Otherwise, you could likely donate just as much as if you kept working and donated all your earnings for the time it would have taken you to cover the distance.

If you are asking people to donate their money, you have to be doing something which challenges you or pushes you outside your comfort zone.

This week we've seen Bay residents shave their hair off to raise money and awareness for Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.

That's something I can get behind, particularly when a girl volunteers to lose their long locks.

This week 17-year-old Otumoetai College student Mackenzie Latif had her hair shaved off for the cause.

That takes guts.

I'm not brave enough to do that now, let alone during my high school years.

Yes, hair grows back but it takes a wee while to grow back the long shoulder length locks so many teenagers pride themselves on.

Mackenzie's friends and family obviously agreed her decision was one that deserved their support - she managed to raise more than $1000.

While it's more socially acceptable for boys to have no hair, I was equally impressed by 9-year-old Oscar Maybury who shaved his head for the second year running after deciding he wanted to do something to support people battling blood cancer.

It's great to see a young boy thinking of others.

We could all learn a thing or two from Mackenzie and Oscar.