New it is; the closer to the absurd a thought comes, the less is the chance that someone had thought about it before.
It wouldn't be charity -- or altruism, -- if by giving of myself I gave something bad. What is given in charity is by definition good, so the giver, who gives of himself, must be good.
Why are you using these terms interchangeably? They don't have interchangeable meanings. They don't even refer to one another.
ALTRUISM
1. Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.
2. Zoology. Instinctive cooperative behavior that is detrimental to the individual but contributes to the survival of the species.
CHARITY
1. Provision of help or relief to the poor; almsgiving.
2. Something given to help the needy; alms.
3. An institution, organization, or fund established to help the needy.
4. Benevolence or generosity toward others or toward humanity.
5. Indulgence or forbearance in judging others. See Synonyms at mercy.
6. often Charity Christianity. The theological virtue defined as love directed first toward God but also toward oneself and one's neighbors as objects of God's love.
--According to Dictionary.com
Altruism is not selective. It is indescriminate. It does not consider the need or plenty of the recipients. It is concern for others potentially to the cost of one's self.
Charity is an act which discriminates to the benefit of the needy. It is also a conscious attitude of benevolence to others. It presumes continuity of the self to maintain it. Even Christian charity, which seems quite altruistic, requires the giver to think of one's self as well.
A gift that is given without discrimination or thought is not charity. Nor is the choice to die so that others may live. Neither set of definitions bestow inherent "goodness" on the act or the giver. I would say goodness about the act or the giver depends upon the context surrounding the event.
"What is given in charity is by definition good, so the giver, who gives of himself, must be good."
Would you consider the United Way contributions "good" even though they were used in fraudulant manners? How about charitable contributions given to the International Red Cross? The oil for food program?
Need I continue with charity that is not by definition good?
Rand, distinguished charity from altruism, and said that altruism has the premise of the self, or "selfishness", as evil. She found that idea itself evil:
What is the moral code of altruism? The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value.
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice--which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction--which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.