Lava lamp or helping the poor?

Imagine if everyone in the office took their $5 for a gift exchange and did something with it? We could've provided many meals to the poor. Instead, I'm stuck with a cheap ass fake lava lamp. Don't get me wrong -- it looks great on my desk -- but given the economy, aren't there better things to spend money on? We could have had just as much fun playing a game of cards or something.