TOO often when people or organisations help causes far from home the trolls come to the fore and very firmly insist: “We should be helping our own first and foremost.”

There is a sensible debate to be had there, and I’ll never really disagree with the phrase “charity begins at home”, however does there really have to be a choice?

Helping at home and helping abroad – are these really two mutually exclusive options? Can’t we do both?

We can. And I’ll give you two examples from just the last week with my Glasgow Taxi hat on. 

1. Helping at home: 
More than 20 of us Glasgow Taxi drivers have now applied to receive and carry naloxone as part of the Scotland-wide initiative to reduce drug deaths.

Drivers like me who apply to carry the opioid overdose reversal medication will have it in our cabs as we complete journeys in and around the city.

Glasgow Taxis was one of the first companies to take a step forward and show support for this initiative, advertising our advocacy with an emblazoned cab that can be seen around the city, carrying the #StopTheDeaths message.

The joint initiative by the Scottish Government and Scottish Drugs Forum has also used TV and radio adverts and billboards at transport hubs and shopping centres to promote the message that drug deaths in Scotland are preventable.

2. Helping internationally: 

Following the grim situation in Ukraine which has developed over the last seven days or so, countless humanitarian relief charities have rightly acted swiftly to provide aid. 

One of those is our very own Glasgow The Caring City who, as I type this, has a truckful of requested goods heading for the Poland/Ukraine border to help those fleeing the devastating scenes in their homeland. 

At the same time a fundraising campaign has been launched so the charity can do more (justgiving.com/campaign/glasgow4ukraine) – and it has reached out to Glasgow Taxis to seek our support locally, as and when needed, should such help be needed at all. 

This support could be as simple as collecting aid from point A and taking it to point B prior to it heading overseas. Every little helps. 

Glasgow Taxis has stepped up to offer support, as we so often do, at both home and abroad. 

So it doesn’t have to be a choice – we can always help “our own” and others at the same time.

Stay safe!