Christmas is a time for giving so they say, and in Costa Rica this saying definitely holds true. Giving seems to be an ingrained quality of Ticos. I have often found myself on public buses touched by the number of people that shell out money to buy products from recovering drug addicts, HIV victims or poor children. This weekend while eating lunch I witnessed another restaurant patron volunteer to purchase a meal for an indigenous couple that came in asking for food.

Costa Rica Giving — President Arias and Tony Silva at 2006 charity event

Among family and friends the giving is amplified further by sharing food or inviting one another to a drink without concern for the fact that the average salary is about $450 a month. Costa Rica has a large middle class because families support one another keeping each other above the poverty line by sharing their homes and resources.

This weekend’s telethon is a good example of how much Costa Rica as a nation has to give to its fellow citizens. Under the slogan “Together everything is possible” the country surpassed the telethon’s goals by donating a total of about $832,000 to benefit the Children’s Hospital in San Jose and the Hospital of Smiles project.

National and international celebrity figures and singers took the stage in front a full house throughout the non-stop weekend event to inspire the population to put others before themselves and donate to the cause. The 27-hour event included everything from reggae to meringue to reggaeton and was one of the more emotional telethons the country has seen.

It is also a tradition for Costa Rican businesses to take part in the giving. For example, the tortilla company DEMASA had employees give out gifts to over 250 children. The Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) designates a needy child to each employee to donate a wrapped Christmas present to.

Costa Rican Vacations travel agency has pledged to donate gifts to 30 children from the Rincon Grande community in Pavas and will be taking part in the annual Obras del Espiritu Santo (Works of the Holy Spirit) event on Dec. 23 in the National Stadium. This year about 12,000 children are expected to gather in the stadium for a day filled with entertaining events, food and candy and Christmas gifts donated by national companies.

How can you help?

The owners of Frankie Go have decided to have a benefit party this Friday, Dec. 14 at their club in Escazu. A donation of at least 4,000 colones must be paid at the door (and includes two drinks). Richard Jardine has pledged to double all donations totaling up to $10,000, which will go to the Fundacion Accion Joven (Young Action Foundation), to help children with Down syndrome and to pay for gifts for orphans.

A concert at the Club Capone in El Pueblo will also be held this Friday, Dec. 14 to benefit families affected by the severe flooding this year, one of the most damaging rainy seasons in the History of Costa Rica. The concert will feature groups Digital 80, Los Acetatos, The Heredians and El Guato. The entrance fee is 3,000 colones, 95% of which will go directly to the flood victims.

On Dec. 27 the Costa Rican music group Malpaís will hold a charity benefit concert, organized by the Christian church Vida Abundante, to raise money to buy food for 300 low income families in Coronado, Guadalupe and Moravia. The concert starts at 7:30pm in the church auditorium 800 meters east of the Mall Don Pancho in San Antonio de Coronado and costs 3,000 colones. You can buy tickets at the church or by calling 229-9205.

Gifts to love ones can benefit others as well. Last year I gave my parents a goat for Christmas, or rather donated it through Heifer International at heifer.org, to a needy family in Africa. The organization teaches the recipient families how to care for and profit from the live animal. When their goat has baby goats, they must donate one to another family.

Another worthy cause turned Christmas gift that is just a click away is the One Laptop per Child program. To buy one of the laptops at a price of $100, you must also buy a second laptop that will be donated to a child in a developing country. For more information, check out their website at laptop.org.

If you have any other charity or gift ideas please post them as comments!

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Cultural Events on December 13th, 2007