Giving to the poor, or helping the needy, is not something that the poor and needy need so much as something that must be done by those who have.
Helping others is not seen as a social measure to prevent disasters in the community, but as an obligation imposed on each and every individual.
The poor have the right to demand and receive.
The giver, on the other hand, does not give because he is kindhearted, or because he’s under some kind of public pressure, but because it is his duty.
A person must first give, and only then search for needy people to give to.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz