Donation heatwave

“Hello, we are Kang Na-yeon and Kim Mun-ju, third and fifth-grade students at Dong Myung Elementary School. A few days ago, we read an article titled “Donation Phobia.” It is time for a donation heatwave, not for a donation phobia. Taking a first step is needed to start a donation heatwave, and we want to give love and affection to every individual.” A hand-written letter by young kids was delivered to the Community Chest of Korea on Tuesday. Two elementary students living in Jecheon City, North Chungcheong Province sent a letter together with a scholarship award from a science fair in the amount of 374 dollars. They wrote, “We want this money to become a hope for people who are depressed or in need of help.” Donation heatwave is such a decent term with a pleasing rhythm with donation phobia.

Donation heatwave is hardly seen at the end of this year, but rather, a donation cold wave is hitting severely. It was 55.9 degrees at “Love Thermometer Tower” in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul on Friday. It rises by one degree whenever one percent of the donation goal by the Community Chest of Korea is fulfilled. This year’s donation target is 399.4 billion won. As it rose approximately 70 degrees by this time in 2015 and 2016, this year’s record is very low.

Evolutionist Richard Dawkins said that cooperation is a strategy for spreading more copies of one’s gene and, in terms of genetics, altruism is indeed selfishness. On the contrary, scholars, such as Edward Wilson and David Wilson, support group selection, which explains that a group evolves from individuals’ sacrifice for the sake of a group. In other words, altruism raises people’s chances of survival. Other hypothesis is that helping others increases chances of getting help. Putting these explanations aside, the genuine and sincere heart to help “people who are depressed or in need of help” cannot be explained by any theory.

A donation cold wave usually comes with an economic slump. However, consumer sentiment seems upbeat as month-on-month retail sales increased 5.6 percent in November. It seems that mistrust is a main culprit. Several incidents have made the public turn blind eyes to donation. For example, a news was reported that a father who used donations to his daughter suffering from a rare disease to buy a foreign sedan. Companies strengthened their donation guidelines last year from a backlash created by the Choi Soon-sil scandal, and they are showing passive attitude this winter. The winter is still long. This writer wants the letter by two children with warm hearts to ignite the fuse for a donation heatwave.