Warm fuzzies a text away

SO WHO'S helping Vanuatu? Go on, be honest. You've thought about it, right? You've perhaps even seen a donation campaign circulating online or collection points for donated goods listed in the newspaper.

But how many of us went that extra step and gathered up the old clothes, sifted through the shed for unused items or handed over cold, hard cash?

My altruism has ebbed and flowed over the years, largely influenced by my personal situation at the time and my ability to give both my time and my money. A decade ago when I was time rich but cash poor, I used to spend a reasonable amount of my spare time using my media skills to help families supported by the Sensible Sentencing Trust.

Then life got busy, I started a business and fairly soon I was living to work, not working to live. Helping people slipped down the to-do list to the point that I wasn't doing anything.

The upshot of the change was being in a stronger financial position and being able to help here and there with donations.

But I'm no Bill Gates. I'm not saving the world. I'm not even making a dent. The nest I'm feathering is largely my own and I won't pretend otherwise.

And what you learn when you're in that situation is that the loser isn't just the people you are no longer supporting, but yourself. Ironically, the more we give away, both in time and money, the more we have.

Because although our primary motivation in volunteering and donating should always be to help others, the reality is that we help ourselves too.

There is something in the human condition that is tied up with wanting to be loved and needed that also yearns to give back and to help others.

The spectrum runs from helping an elderly person cross the street to giving up all the comforts of home and moving to a developing nation to volunteer.

Shiny, happy, people-helping endorphins kick in whatever we do and make us feel useful. And what's more important in life than feeling like we are useful... that our fleeting presence on this planet is making a difference, however small?

Thanks to a growing introversion created and facilitated by modern technology, we are fast becoming an extremely selfish bunch. Most of us don't even know what is happening outside our own borders because we're too busy reading our news feed instead of the actual news.

But the crisis in Vanuatu is close enough to feature on everybody's radar here. The question now is who is going to act on that instinct to help and who is just going to think about it for a few days until something else dominates headlines?

Right now, aid agencies, local businesses and inspired individuals are putting out a call for help that is as easy to give as sifting through your wardrobe and pulling out the clothes you no longer wear. Donations have never been easier to make thanks to online and text services and even if you think you can't afford it, compared to the genuinely poor population of Vanuatu, you can.

Whatever you give, just give something. Then sit back and soak up the warm fuzzies that come from helping others, and by doing so, helping yourself.