Chocolate, Happiness and Fundraising

Yesterday I was doing my annual scout of Coles and Woolworths to see if they had any good specials or discounted packaged food that I could buy in advance and save for Live Below the Line. While doing that I was distracted by the sheer amount of chocolate around me, not just in the chocolate aisle but on the ends of aisles, by checkouts and on clearance tables as well.  It made me realise that Easter is around the corner which can be seen as a secular celebration of copious amounts of food and, of course, CHOCOLATE.

Does this have anything to do with LBL? In a way, yes.

I remember how happy and excited I’d be on Easter Sunday morning to be waking up to a day full of chocolate, lamb roasts and pavlova. But then I think back to Lucy’s blog about being able to find happiness everywhere - even where there is such a lack of material wealth and opportunities for self-agency that it could be considered poverty - or how happy I feel when I receive something like a LBL donation (hint hint) or a good mark on an assignment.

The differences in these feelings of happiness is that it is sometimes caused by tangible or material things (such as chocolate) or something less tangible such as knowing that through Live Below the Line I’ve been part of helping someone realise an education.

It also made me reflect on the frivolous purchases I could make (hello 1kg chocolate eggs) and other ways I could spend that money. I often tell my friends that if they all donated to me the price of a regular coffee (because even as students we need/ can afford caffeine) I’d reach my fundraising target in no time. (A fundraising target which I may add will be helping a much better cause than my stomach or the stomachs of my friends).

Given this, I reckon that Easter and holiday time is a great time to pester family and friends for those donations to get you over your target (or even kickstart your fundraising).

Practice with me:

'Mum/ dad/ friend do we really need 3 varieties of chocolate (substitute in ingredient/ product of choice) in the fridge that will inevitably disappear in five minutes?'

'No? I thought not. Look, I’ve just saved you $x, why not donate that to my Live Below the Line fundraising instead?'

So no, I did not buy any chocolate yesterday. I did get a $1.49 bag of split peas though and came home and posted about me doing Live Below the Line on Facebook with a link to my LBL profile. Spending my money wisely and contributing to a great cause? I like it!



Have you started your fundraising yet (ie. happiness sans chocolate)? If so, definitely let me know your best tips and tricks!