#92 Asking for donations (Med)

SBS Australia

a day ago

spk_0
Well, if you ask me, learning English helps me to help others.
spk_1
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Josipa
Hi, my name is Josipa.
Josipa
And I made a promise to my friend that I'd help her raise money for a charity that supports homeless families.
Josipa
A charity is a group that helps people in need.
Josipa
So I signed up to do a charity run of 10 kilometres because I really believe in what this charity does. A charity run is organized by a charity to raise money. People who take part in the run ask their friends and family to give money to the charity because they're taking part in it.
Josipa
And are likely to be very exhausted by the experience and even feel some pain. It's like, I'm suffering for this charity, so please give money to them.
Josipa
Now, I am not a runner. I'm more of a sit down and read a book kind of person. So I will be exhausted, and my feet, my feet are likely to hurt.
Josipa
But that's not the part I'm worried about.
Josipa
The hard part, asking people for money. Like, how do you even say it? Hey, would you like to give me money? Nope. That feels weird, too direct, too uncomfortable. It is difficult to ask people to donate. That is, to give something like money, clothes, food, or time to help others. So I started thinking.
Josipa
There must be a better way to ask, a more polite way, a more English way, and there is.
Josipa
Allan and Claire showed me in this dialogue that there are some polite and friendly ways to ask for a donation without sounding pushy or awkward. A donation is whatever you give to a charity. You don't get anything for it. You give because you want to help. Now let's listen to Alan and Claire at work.
Allan
Hey Claire, do you have a minute? Sure, what's up? I'm running a charity cake stall this Friday to raise money for a children's hospital. It's part of the community fundraiser I've joined. Would you be open to making a small donation?
Claire
Oh, that sounds lovely, Alan, but I've already donated to another charity appeal this week. Sorry.
Allan
Totally understand, no pressure at all. But if you've got a coin or two to spare, it'll go straight to a good cause.
Allan
Every bit counts and hey, I'll save you the best cupcake.
Claire
Alright, you got me. I can't say no to a cupcake.
Josipa
Alan is organizing a charity cake stall. That's when people bake cakes and muffins, sell them, and give the money to a charity.
Josipa
Alan is really altruistic. That means he helps others just to do something good, not to get anything back. Hmm. To be completely honest, I'm not sure I'm doing my charity because I'm altruistic. I want to help, yes, but the real reason is it makes me feel good about myself, and that's OK, right? Doing good and feeling good can go together.
Josipa
Now, let's do some good for our English and learn the phrases from the dialogue. Let's listen again to how Alan asked Claire for a donation.
Allan
I'm running a charity cake stall this Friday to raise money for a children's hospital. It's part of a community fundraiser I've joined.
Allan
Would you be open to making a small donation
Josipa
Before asking for money, Alan explained what the fundraiser was for by saying,
Allan
I'm running a charity cake stall this Friday to raise money for a children's hospital.
Josipa
If you are running something, it means you're organizing it, looking after it, or making sure it happens.
Josipa
Alan is running a charity cake stall, but you can run other things too. For example, if you are running a business, that means you are managing or owning it.
Josipa
Allan then said,
Allan
It's part of a community fundraiser I've joined.
Josipa
A fundraiser is an event or activity that helps collect money to help others, and the community fundraiser is when people in a neighbourhood, school, or local group work together to raise money for something important.
Josipa
After saying what the money is for, the reason for the fundraiser.
Josipa
Alan asked Claire.
Allan
Would you be open to making a small donation?
Josipa
This is a polite way not to direct or pushy, to ask someone if they're willing to give a little money to help. Would you be open to? It's the same as saying, are you OK with, or would you say yes to?
Josipa
And making a small donation means giving a small amount to help.
Josipa
For example, I often make a small donation by giving away clothes that I don't need. I hope that my donations make life a little easier for someone in need.
Josipa
Now let's hear a few more ways in which we can ask for donations.
Claire
I've got a little fundraiser going. Any chance you'd like to help?
Allan
Would you be happy to support this cause?
Josipa
Any help you can give would mean a lot.
Josipa
Claire initially said she couldn't donate to Alan's charity, she said.
Claire
I've already donated to another charity appeal this week. Sorry!
Josipa
A charity appeal is when a charity asks people to give money or help. They may ask for people's donation in a letter, online, on TV, on the radio, or like Alan did in person.
Josipa
It's called an appeal because the charity is asking for support.
Josipa
Allan then said,
Allan
Totally understand. No pressure at all. But if you've got a coin or two to spare, it'll go straight to a good cause. Every bit counts, and hey, I'll save you the best cupcake.
Josipa
Notice how Alan showed that he understood Claire's response, but then he tried one more time.
Allan
But if you've got a coin or two to spare, it'll go straight to a good cause.
Josipa
That's another good phrase we could use when asking for donations. When we ask someone for a coin or two, we are asking for a small amount of money. We also often use the phrase a gold coin donation.
Josipa
This means that you don't have to give a large amount like a $5 or $10 note.
Josipa
And to spare means extra. So if you have some money to spare, that means that you can give, donate a little without causing any problems. Allan said the money he is raising will go straight to a good cause.
Josipa
A good cause is a project or group that helps people or animals who need support, like a charity or community group. For me, running 10 kilometres will be hard, but, but I believe it will be worth it to support a good cause. Alan also said.
Allan
Every bit counts.
Josipa
This means that even a small amount is helpful.
Josipa
You could also say,
Claire
A little help goes a long way.
Josipa
Or if you want to sound more formal, you could say.
Allan
We appreciate any support you can give.
Josipa
You know what? After hearing all the great examples Allan and Claire shared in this episode, I feel ready to help my friend make a difference. So why don't you listen to their dialogue one more time while I make some phone calls to ask for donations for my friend's charity appeal.
Allan
Hey Claire, do you have a minute? Sure, what's up? I'm running a charity cake stall this Friday to raise money for a children's hospital. It's part of the community fundraiser I've joined. Would you be open to making a small donation?
Claire
Oh, that sounds lovely, Alan, but I've already donated to another charity appeal this week. Sorry.
Allan
Totally understand, no pressure at all. But if you've got a coin or two to spare, it'll go straight to a good cause.
Allan
Every bit counts and hey, I'll save you the best cupcake.
Claire
Alright, you got me. I can't say no to a cupcake.
Josipa
Hello. We're from SBS. Learn English. I'm. So I got up early, got in my car, and now I'm at Immigrant Women's Speak Out organization in a company of Sunila Kotwal, who is executive officer and works with other women who dedicate all their time to help other women.
Josipa
Hello, Sunila, how are you?
Sunila
I'm good, thank you.
Josipa
Why are your services so important for women who need help?
Sunila
OK. Immigrant Women Speak Out Association of New South Wales, that's a proper name, has been working to support women experiencing domestic family and sexual violence. Our services exist because we are a specialized service for migrant and refugee women.
Sunila
Unfortunately, mainstream services don't always work for migrant women, especially for those on temporary visas.
Sunila
Many of the women who come to us have never asked for help before. Some didn't even know that they could.
Sunila
They've come from places where services are limited and women are silent. So when they come through our doors, we know that it has taken them a lot to get there.
Josipa
And what kind of help do you give to women who are leaving family violence or have no safe place to live?
Sunila
Years ago when women visiting us to seek support, they begged to sleep at our office just to stay safe. That's when we knew that we had to do more. So we opened our own crisis accommodation in 2016, a shelter specifically for migrant women on temporary visas.
Sunila
We now run 2 crisis accommodations, accommodating 12 single women at any time.
Sunila
Each woman can stay for up to 6 months while we support them through every step of rebuilding their lives. We provide culturally appropriate support from a caseworker, a counselor.
Sunila
We provide them groceries, food vouchers, transport cards, and emotional support. We run programs to improve their mental and physical health, such as self-care, gardening, self-defense, and more.
Sunila
We help women find jobs, help them write resumes, prepare for interviews, and accompany them to the interviews.
Sunila
We also offer practical skills building in areas like baking, sewing, and alteration to help women earn an income, regardless of their English level.
Josipa
You also help them with English, don't you?
Sunila
We do. We run English conversation classes and we also run basic computer classes where we get them email addresses and help them understand what the government emails are asking from them.
Can you tell us how can someone in a very practical, concrete way help your organization? What can we do?
Sunila
There are 2 key ways to support us financially and practically. Financial donations, both one time and ongoing, are essential to keep our services running.
Sunila
On the practical side, we welcome volunteers to help run our programs. That might mean teaching English, basic computer skills, helping in our garden, or helping us organize one of our 5 annual women's picnics.
Josipa
And if one wants to join you, try to become a volunteer in your organization where they can find information.
Sunila
We have a website www.speakout.org.au. All the information about the volunteers is available there.
Josipa
Thank you, Sunila for this interview.
Josipa
Let's now practice different ways we can ask for donations. Just repeat after Alan and Claire.
Claire
Would you be open to making a small donation?
Allan
We appreciate any support you can give.
Claire
Any help you can give would mean a lot.
Allan
If you've got a coin or two to spare, it'll go straight to a good cause.
Josipa
If you'd like to practice your speaking skills, and I really recommend it, listen to our bonus episode. It's short, fun, and great for speaking practice. Practicing out loud really helped me. It gave me confidence to speak to people in English.
Josipa
You can also check out our socials, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more tips and fun language learning videos. Just search for SBS Learn English. I'm Josipa. Thank you for learning English with me today.
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