I was surprised reading “Tale of a Novice Bucket-Rattler” when Anna S. says people are not willing to donate to good causes like hospice care. Less than a month ago, I lost my dad to lymphoma, a type of cancer. He fought a long, hard battle, and spent his last days in hospice care.

Hospice was a place for our family to say our good-byes, and for my dad to find peace seeing the outdoors. He was finally in a place where he could be surrounded by family, not beeping machines, like in the intensive care unit.

Because we were able to be together as a family for those last moments, my family asked for contributions to be made to the hospice facility in my father’s name. A wave of donations from friends and family were made to the facility in just a week.

In her article, Anna says that the public is cold-hearted and just walks past people asking for money. However, I’m not surprised that people did not give money to a teenager with no proof of connection to the hospice organization. People do give to charity, but they like to do it on their own schedule. Going out and asking for money is different from people deciding to donate on their own. My experience is proof that people still give to charity, but I believe they don’t feel as comfortable giving to a teenager standing in front of a store.

After losing my dad to cancer, many things in my life have changed. I miss him dearly, and he was the best father I could ever have had. Please realize that the gloomy outlook on human nature in the article is false.