I THINK THAT IS PART OF LIFE, BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THINGS AND BEING CONCERNED ABOUT PEOPLE OUTSIDE YOURSELF
people who were less fortunate than yourself in a variety of ways. I have always been interested in that and I have got a lot from it as well.’ Others, and women in particular, stressed more the obligation to provide help at a local and familial level: ‘I do really believe that charity begins at home. I think it is pointless giving money if you are not decent and helpful to people around you, especially with your time.’ ‘I’d rather sit with an old person for an hour than give five quid to the home they are living in. I know for a fact that that person wants to tell their stories to me and wants to have a chat. And actually I get a lot out of that. The older people that I know like having those conversations with people.’ Taking a rather different line, the men talked more about the direct debits they had taken out in order to support large charities: ‘I have got two direct debits that go out for every month; one to Cancer Research and one to Amnesty.’ ‘I have got a [direct] debit to Marie Curie and give a little bit every month. I don’t feel like I have got an awful lot of time, whereas ten years ago I used to do some numeracy tuition, which was unpaid, helping people who have some difficulty with numbers. Hopefully in the future I will have more time to give.’ There were also concerns expressed in the focus groups about how much of the monetary donations actually reached the intended recipients of aid, as opposed to being swallowed up in administration and salary costs: ‘Half the battle with people is the apathy: “What’s the point in doing that because
› The Future of Freemasonry: A report by the Social Issues Research Centre 2012
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