To think private school charities should be more diverse

[brownieMum]

Recently visited a top performing private school and they have set up charities with very poor schools in Africa. One of the children there toured me around the school and she proudly said to me that they help children from developing countries who are poor and help them in the provision of clean water. Not a problem of course to help those poor African children but why also not set up charities to help children who are poor from white backgrounds here in the UK who struggle to get proper heating in the winter. Would it not be fair for these schools to represent poverty from a diverse background.

.. "white backgrounds in the uk"??

Did you ask the school what else they do for charity? I know my DDs school has just celebrated harvest festival where donations will go to local organisations. They didn't specify that the recipients needed to be white, however.

There are so many people in the world who need help, none is more deserving than another but some are in more need than others.

You do need to pick a couple and in doing so obviously there will lots that you don't choose.

this is such a shit OP

My son is at a private school and their charities contribute to loads ofthings - including a local disabilities charity that his brother uses.
My other son is at a state school and they contribute to a local charity which I thoroughly despise.

The private school angle of this op is shit stirring, uninformed crap

Clearly stated the school I visited and they never mentioned anything to do with local charities and directed my post to those schools which have got such practises

but which school have those practices?
You seem to have visited one school and assumed that every private school is therefore the same.
Which is not true at all.
My Dcs between them have attended 5 private schools. NONE of those has exclusively served charities abroad.
many school have votes to determine which charity is chosen and vary it yearly. Other have two or three that they support long term.

Name a dozen school who have the practice you named- helping only overseas projects. Can you?

I think all schools, and all individuals, who put energy into charitable activity should look at the causes of the disadvantage they seek to address, and examine their own role in that, personally, politically or nationally.

The viewing of 'poor victims that only we can help' is a highly paternalistic view whether it be directed at inner-city UK or rural African communities.

"... poor from white backgrounds here in the UK who struggle to get proper heating in the winter ..."

" ... Would it not be fair for these schools to represent poverty from a diverse background ..."

cough

From what I've seen, most private schools are involved with a variety of different charities and projects. You seem to be assuming that because this specific charity was the one that your tour-guide mentioned, that it is the only one they are involved with.

1. That's unlikely - it's probably just that it's the new one, and they've just had an assembly all about it so it was uppermost in her mind

1. Even if it was true, perhaps they have a reason for that - such as building far more meaningful links with specific schools/towns, rather than just the "We give them money because they are poor" charity mentality.

We can't all as individuals or organisations meaningfully support every charity.

I choose the ones I want to support.

This school chooses the one it wants to support.

Why is the fact that it is private make any difference?

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School here (not private but not sure it makes a difference at all) supports two local charities and does collections for UNICEF. A lot of parents do complain they are asked for too much monney to support these 3 charities. Maybe they would complain as well if the only one they were sponsoring was UNICEF?

As Asana said, we all have one or a few charities we choose to sponsor. I am sure that if you decided to not give money to the chosen school charity and give to a local one of your choice no one would comment.