Hello friends and family,

I have arranged to spend this September volunteering in Athens. I’ll be working at Khora, a community centre that provides free food, legal and medical support, education, and social activities for Syrian refugees. I’ll be teaching English and piano, leading drama games and helping out in the kitchen and office.

I’ve thought a great deal about whether or not to ask for donations.

On the one hand it seems an obvious thing to do. I’m volunteering my time to a good cause and I’ll struggle to fund the trip at the same time as taking an entire month off work. Asking friends and family to share the financial burden seems a fair choice.

On the other hand it’s not as if I don’t want to go! I’ve decided to volunteer for the good of myself as well as for the good of those I hope to help. And I know that any donations I receive could do far more good if given directly to a charity already working in Athens.

So this is my compromise:

I’ve set up this Just Giving page where I am accepting donations. I will give 50% of any donations I receive directly to the Khora community, and use the other 50% to support my trip. For example: if I were to raise £600, that money will be split £300 to Khora and £300 towards my expenses (and I would fund the remaining £400 towards my trip). The maximum I will take towards my expenses is £500, meaning any donations in excess of £1000 will all be given to Khora.

Just Giving is a for profit organisation, which I find problematic. They charge a fee of 5% of all donations, as well as a processing cost of 1.25%. I don't want any of your charitable donations going to Just Giving. I am only choosing to use this software because it is a useful method of managing donations. As a result I will cover the cost of all the fees, meaning 100% of your donations go directly to the charitable causes.

I’ll also be taking a large suitcase of supplies. If you want to donate any of the items listed at khora-athens.org/donate please let me know and I can collect them from you before heading off on September 4th. For more information about the Khora community and the work they do, go to khora-athens.org.

And any questions about all this please do get in touch. The ethics of charitable giving are seriously complex so I’d be keen to hear any thoughts.

Lots of love,

Paul