How to do a bit of Charity in Manchester

One of the reasons we don’t do charity is pretty straightforward: we have to give something up. It’s usually either our time or money, and it takes the form of “if I had more money, of course I’d donate to charity”. So what if there was a way to do some good without giving up your time or money?

I recently joined Octopus, and was thrown into the world of smart meters. I’ve been avoiding those forever, as I’ve heard countless horror stories of smart meters going twice as fast or even worse. I’m happy to report there seems to be no difference. It’s all working properly.

Octopus has one of the coolest apps, and comes with Octoplus; discounts on meals, points to redeem for cash, and one free coffee a week. You can choose between Caffè Nero and Greggs, depending on availability.

What does that have to do with charity, you ask?

As I went to get my Greggs coffee (Nero offer ran out) I remembered their coffee is not something I ever want to have again (sorry). There was a homeless man right outside Greggs and it hit me: that’s the easiest, most frictionless piece of charity I could ever do. The homeless man gets something, and I don’t lose anything. Win-win.

So if you want to do the tiniest bit of good, use your freebies on someone who needs them more.