Developing a generous spirit

Wednesday, 6 August 2008

Developing a generous spirit

Malaysians are said to be a generous lot. The astronomical amount of monies collected in the wake of global disasters is evidence enough. However, while the outpouring of Malaysian funds to meet needs are generously directed to the globally devastated areas from China to Indonesia and from Myanmar to Afghanistan, getting locals to respond on a smaller but more consistent scale within our own backyard is a lot harder.

One recent experience is a case in point. For the 1^st weekend of July 2008 Jumble Station was offered the use of 1 Utama’s ‘Community Corner’ to promote its activities and sell some of its items. Bear in mind that this was a very generous move indeed by the 1 Utama management to help charitable organisations get the reach they need to share with the general public about their activities.

So there we were, centrally located at the Oval wing of 1Utama, visible to all shoppers coming from north to south and east to west of this most happening of shopping places. The added attraction was that it was also the weekend for the Mega Shopping Sale so we were assured of a huge crowd of shoppers.

Sadly, the response of the shoppers was rather ‘under-whelming’ to say the least. Many shoppers totally bypassed us, glanced pointedly past our booth to the other side of the shopping arena or generally avoided walking too close to our booth.

Selling the second hand items brought from Jumble Station itself was obviously out of the question judging by the number of shoppers who sailed past us armed with “Gap”, ‘Nike” and other high quality branded bags. Sharing with these shoppers about Jumble Station’s need for their unwanted items to help Single Parents who are poor therefore made more sense than going for outright sale of items.

So our motley of volunteers which included Jenny, Joyce, Samuel, Thaddeus, Jarred and a few other college kids, decided to approach the shoppers to share with them Jumble Station’s aspirations and objectives and to hand over a postcard or a flyer that would enable them to participate in this community outreach initiative.

Oh boy, the reactions we received to this direct approach have to be seen and felt to be believed. Many people quickened their steps whenever they were near our booth to discourage us from handing them a flyer or a postcard. Others abruptly did an about turn and moved in a different direction to avoid us completely. Yet others will walk past us and despite being approached by us won’t slow down their walking pace forcing us to hurry through our talk or run alongside them. The worst ones won’t even break their stride, pointedly refuse to accept our postcard and don’t even want to hear a word of what we’re trying to say! There were a few that used us as an information counter but did not pause to ask about JS.

Have we, the ones with the means to shop for expensive clothes and items become so immune to the plight of our fellow countrymen that it takes only a global disaster for us to respond and respond generously in cash and kind and must it only be to the needs of total strangers in another part of the world?

Perhaps the same shoppers have been harassed by other ‘charity seekers’ of the past who were persistent, aggressive and so ‘in-your-face’ with their donation drives but is that enough to tar every other charity group with the same acidic reaction? Put yourself in our shoes. How would you feel if you were on the receiving end of such an exercise? What if you had so generously offered your time and effort to give out flyers only to receive this kind of reaction from the oh-so-busy shoppers?

Jarred, a normally quiet, introverted college student more at home with playing games online than passing out flyers in shopping malls was so traumatized by his first experience he actually said “I’ve never felt so rejected in my life!” We comforted him by telling him to get used to it because once he started dating, ‘rejections’ would be common!

Of course, not all shoppers were uncaring. Only a handful actually slowed down to read our banner, ask more information and happily walk off with our postcard, some even included a single parent or two. Others when approached actually stopped long enough to hear what we had to say and were delighted enough to learn that with Jumble Station’s existence, they now have a place to send their unwanted items which could be put to good use and help Single Parents in need. To these kind folks I salute you because you treated us as humans; you had the compassion to realise that those of us giving out flyers and postcards are humans not robots.

As volunteers we take courage in our hands and approach you, a stranger. It is not easy, it is a bold act because we don’t know if we will be welcomed or pointedly ignored, appreciated or derided but above all, we still do it because if we don’t do it, the plight of the 150,000 Single Parents living below poverty levels in Malaysia won’t be made known to those who can afford to help. To put this on record, our donation box for the 3-day promotion period drew only RM5 while sales only came up to RM140! We spent more paying for our parking fees and food for volunteers during that period!

Generosity comes in various forms; in cash, in your time and in your compassionate actions. Flyer distributors for charity groups deserve to be treated as human beings. Dave Toycen in his book “The Power of Generosity” states that ‘Whether you choose to donate or not, your first obligation in a caring society is to acknowledge the presence of the individual.”

The individual is the one handing out the flyer - he was generous with his free time, you can only reciprocate likewise. Dave goes on to say that “looking away is a form of denial that diminishes and distances at the same time. Generosity sets a standard that builds relationships rather than destroys them. The opportunity to reach out to someone is an opportunity to bring about positive change. Our dreams for a better future are connected to acts of kindness that serve as shining lights in every corner of the world.” Malaysians have proven that they are ever willing to bring ‘financial light to the far corners of the other regions’, why then are we so reluctant to be as generous to the darkened corners of our own neighbourhoods? Let’s revisit our attitude today!

Jumble Station is a community outreach initiative focused on helping Single Parents in need. If you want to donate stuff, cash or time contact Mary Anne 016-2202958 email: jumblestation@gmail.com or check out our blog: jumblestation1.blogspot.com.