THIS year’s Radiomarathon charity for children with special needs raised just over £1.3 million after a number of events and two days of volunteers collecting money on the roads all over Cyprus, just short of last year’s total of £1,326,576, the most ever collected for the Radiomarathon.
Over the years, the Radiomarathon has seen a steady increase in the amount of money collected since they began in 1990. However, since 2000 the amount raised has shown an even keel and raised the question of whether Cypriots are now giving less money to charity.
Indeed campaigners are now concerned that Cypriots may be suffering from charity fatigue, with one charity after another campaigning week after week, collecting money from motorists stopped at traffic lights.
A member of the organising committee of the Radiomarathon said yesterday they were concerned that Cypriots were not giving as much money as they had hoped to help children with special needs.
“We have heard there has been a reluctance by some people to give towards charities because there are so many now,” the campaigner told the Cyprus Mail. “However, the Radiomarathon has been raising money for children with special needs for years. People know it is not only about raising money, but to improve the lives of children with special needs,” he added.
“We don’t only stand at traffic lights pressuring people to hand over their money. We organise special events. For example last week Mrs Fotini Papadopoulos held a wonderful event for the children, where they all had fun and showed that there are no real differences between children with special needs and those without.”
The Radiomarathon spokesman said most people remained very generous. “Some people give up to £10, others give £5 some £1. People give what they can.”
But another charity voiced concern for the growing number of associations trying to raise money on the streets. Telethon representative Vicki Tsangaridou told the Cyprus Mail there were too many charities who were only interested in raising money, not organisng events.
“We have noticed a small reduction in our money collected from last year, although last year was a lot better than the year before,” said Tsangaridou.
“ People are tired of being harassed at traffic lights time and time again by so many charities.”
Still, Cypriots remain generous compared to fund-raising in the UK.
One of the largest charity organisations in Britain, Comic Relief, told the Cyprus Mail that they had raised £60 million sterling this year from their annual ‘red nose day’. With a population of 60 million in the UK it works out on average each person contributed one pound sterling (approximately 85 cents) to Comic Relief.
In comparison, Radiomarathon in Cyprus in comparison managed to raise almost £1.70 per inhabitant this year, showing a significant level of compassion.
But organisers yesterday appealed to the public to remember that children with special needs do not only appear once a year when the Radiomarathon heads for the streets to raise money. They need constant care and attention, and the money raised by the Radiomarathon helps to give these children a better way of life.
The University of Cyprus recently conducted a survey to find out how many students understood what it entailed to take care of children with special needs. The survey wanted to prove that it was important not only to give money, but to understand and respect children’s needs and give them emotional support.
Although 76 per cent of students admitted to knowing a child with special needs only 34 per cent of them struck up any kind of relationship. When asked if they believed the Radiomarathon helped children with special needs 90 per cent said yes and 31 per cent said no; 37 per cent of students believe the Radiomarathon should take a new approach and 21 per cent said they shouldn’t.
