Strangers with needs

I easily sympathize with those who need charity. I regularly donate to non-profit organizations and my church, but how someone asks is one of the most important factors in my decision to give.
I walked into my cubicle the other day and discovered a large manila envelope. I opened it to find a greeting card and, like I usually do, I skipped the front cover and went right to the inside.
I did not necessarily want to know what was inside as much as who was giving it to me.
When I opened the card, I discovered a large wad of cash. Ok, you have my attention, I thought. Now, what the hell is going on?
One of my coworkers appeared to inform me the card was not for me; it was for Jan, who recently had a baby. There is no Jan who works in my department and the only other Jan I know working for the company is most likely beyond her child-bearing years.
Before I wrote something such as “Great job at preserving your youth,” Donna informed me that Jan was a man who works in commercial printing and the collection was intended to buy diapers for the new kid. She also admitted that even though she knew who Jan was, she did not know he was expecting a child.
I never carry cash on me, so I did could not contribute to the fund and I did not sign my name because I do not believe in taking credit for something that I only knew of because they threw it on my desk. Instead, I passed the card onto a coworker who was just as baffled as I was.
Later that week, a few us were discussing the mysterious card and I got to thinking about when it is appropriate to turn down a request. If I had been carrying cash that day, I most likely would have thrown in $5 without thinking about who needed it more – me or Jan.
I also do not know whether Jan really needed the diaper collection or it was simply a gesture of goodwill from his coworkers and anyone else whose paycheck is signed by the same person who signs his. Jan’s kid did not even do anything spectacular that I am aware of; all I knew from the card was the Jan’s kid defecates and I should support that.
I think our sports editor summed it up best when he said the recession caused him to delete the “strangers with needs” line item from his budget.