'To Bless All Mankind' June 4, 2018 Issue

In the giving season, a special act of charity

The Monitor’s Editorial Board

Adapted from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, November 27, 2017.

End-of-year holidays such as Christmas have long been marked as a time for generous giving. The kick-off event has lately become “Giving Tuesday,” an initiative started in 2012 to counter the commercialism of Cyber Monday and Black Friday. And during this “giving season,” at least one act of charity usually stands out. The 2017 winner may have been Haiti.

Despite being devastated by a 2010 earthquake, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere made a big donation in November. It promised to give $250,000 to other Caribbean islands hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The amount may seem small, especially given the billions needed to restore those islands, including Puerto Rico. And many wealthier countries promised millions in grants and loans. The amounts were pledged in November at a special donors conference sponsored by the Caribbean Community, an organization of 15 nations and dependencies.

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