When I think about what’s happening in households all over England (and beyond), I think of people panicking about job security, or concerned about finding a new job after being made redundant. I think about people worrying about paying the mortgage or the rent, or even worrying about being able to put food on the table and keep their homes heated.

I don’t automatically think of people being more generous or charitable to others. But that’s exactly what is happening.

I read a report this morning commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation, that found that a quarter of UK adults are questioning their values since the beginning of the economic downturn, with 77% of people giving as much to charity – if not more – than they did before the recession began.

Which is pretty cool, seeing as you can almost feel the country holding its breath, waiting for the next piece of bad news about the economy.

The survey found that values are shifting on a large scale.  Of the people questioned, 37% of people are less concerned with material possessions than they were before the recession, and a third of people believe that the country will come out of the recession more caring and compassionate, and that they are already more likely to help others in need.

And it seems that history is repeating itself, because apparently after the Great Depression in the 1930s, charitable giving doubled as people saw up close the suffering caused by an economic crisis.

I have to say that this report is the best news I’ve heard in a while. It throws up interesting questions about why people give to charities. To make themselves feel better? Simply because they’ve got the money, so they can?

Or maybe because the recession is suddenly becoming very real to people.

The roles charities play in society are wider than many people imagine: not just feeding the poor, but helping people find employment; assisting those who are struggling with their debts; giving advice and help to tenants who are suddenly losing their homes because the landlord has defaulted on the mortgage payments.  And the people being helped are regular people: someone you used to work with, your neighbour, your friend.

So I’m wondering: are you giving more, or less, to charity than you were before the recession?

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