The concept of collect comes from the Latin word collecta . The first meaning mentioned by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) in its dictionary refers to the action carried out to collect donations .
The usual thing is that a collection is promoted with a charitable purpose . The idea is that those who can and wish to do so contribute money or merchandise; What is collected is then delivered to a person, a group or an institution that needs help .
Characteristics of a collection
There are different types of collection. In some cases, the collection is carried out periodically to assist those most in need (families who are homeless, children who do not have access to education or the elderly without resources to feed themselves, for example). Cáritas Argentina , to point out one case, organizes an annual collection to support different projects and actions.
Other collections arise punctually in the event of an emergency . If a couple with four children loses their material possessions due to a fire , their neighbors can take up a collection to help them. The same thing happens, on a larger scale, if a town is affected by a flood: people from other towns can join a collection to send clothing, food and first aid items to the victims.
The concept in religion
Collections are important in the field of religion since they are a way of exercising solidarity . The aforementioned organization Cáritas , in fact, belongs to the Catholic Church . Also important in Argentine territory is the national collection known as “More for less” carried out by the Argentine Episcopal Conference .
It should be noted that, in the beginnings of the Church, the act that consisted of collecting alms from believers to provide assistance to the needy and priests was called a collection. This meaning of the concept can be found in the Bible .
The RAE , on the other hand, indicates that the gathering of parishioners that took place in the first temples with the intention of holding services was called a collect, as was the first prayer pronounced at a mass .
Beyond the strictly religious, in ancient times the tax that rulers collected for the development of charitable or pious actions was called a collection.
Collection to share expenses
Another use of the idea of collection is linked to the money that is collected to face, as a group, an eventual expense . In this framework, a collection is an outpouring .
Suppose ten friends get together in a park to play soccer . Upon discovering that no one had brought a ball (a ball), they decide to take up a collection to buy one. In this way, each friend contributes what they can or what they want in order to raise the necessary money.
Similarly, coworkers who share the same office can collect refreshments. With the proceeds, they purchase cookies, sandwiches, sweets and soft drinks to consume while they fulfill their work obligations throughout the day.