where does charity begin???

staggeringman · 16-10-2004, 17:36

hi all sat here thinking how to raise some money for charity,i have 4 charity boxes on the bar.

1.for the pensioners picnic at christmas
2.barnadoes.
3.air ambulance.
4.R.N.L.I.
plus i get people comming in selling allsorts for various things i used to be a big supporter of chaigley manor,but that has now gone(were did the money go from its sell off). you get things in the local newspapers asking for charity,but unless you know the people you are donating to, you ask yourself is it going the right place to whom said? how much equipment do we buy for hospitals, why do we donate to government run establishments,if somebody out there can come up with a proper charity which will appreciate and spend our hard earned donations i would like to know.

WillowTheWhisp · 16-10-2004, 18:05

Interesting subject.

I got a phone call from Oxfam a few weeks ago offering to tell me what they'd been doing with the money they receive. I told them I'd be more impressed if they weren't wasting any of it on unsolicited phone calls.

I recall mention a couple of years ago of a charity which claimed to operate solely with volunteers and all money went to the causes but I can't for the life of me think what it was called!

staggeringman · 16-10-2004, 18:08

hi willow most of the money they send abroad must go to the people that run the country, because nothing seems to get to the needy!

Acrylic-bob · 16-10-2004, 18:59

The sad thing about charities these days is that such a lot of the money they collect is spent here in the UK. They spend it on plush offices, executive salaries, expense accounts and advertising. Hmmm, who does that sound like?

The money from the sale of Chaigley Manor (£600,000+) is with the trustees. They intend using it to fund childrens projects.

lettie · 16-10-2004, 21:06

I had a real barney with a girl in the Bridge in Accy about 4 years ago. She was flower selling claiming to be raising cash for special care baby units. When I asked her which unit she couldn't name even one. I know all the staff of our local one and we'd had a memo round work warning of special care baby unit scams and not to donate as the units never see the money. The people who geniunely raise money for our unit are parents who have appreciated the care and support we have given, not only to their babies but to their families. These tend to be small occasions like charity head shaves, waxes, sponsored walks etc. The money raised doesn't just go for medical equipment. On delivery suite it paid for TV's in the labour rooms, cups and saucers so that we could make people a brew after delivery, material for new curtains bedspreads etc which the midwives made in their own time to make the rooms more homely, beanbags, birthballs and all the other non-essential niceties that the NHS cannot afford to provide.

rockrabbit · 17-10-2004, 08:17

i think to many people forget about charities for animals walking round town centres at the weekend there is always the cancer research and mcmillan nurses etc but as most of you probably know the majority of rspca staff are voluntary and unpaid to many animals are treat badly or cast aside each week. Animals have as much right as us to be able to have a happy life .

WillowTheWhisp · 17-10-2004, 09:02

I'm appalled that anyone would pretend to be collecting on behalf of a charity like that Lettie - but maybe I shouldn't be surprised in this day and age.

Gobsmacked · 17-10-2004, 16:14

No respect for anything nowadays. That's the problem we have.

WillowTheWhisp · 17-10-2004, 17:29

That's a bit of a sweeping statement Gobsmacked. Surely somebody respects something?

But taking the sentiment how I hope you meant it what on earth can we do about it?
How do we change this attitude?

Darby · 18-10-2004, 06:21

Charity...bah...humbug!!!!!!!

There is a list (I'm not sure if Tealeaf knows it source), that shows which charity collects what money and which percentage goes to the point of the charity, and how nuch goes in administration fees etc. But, with all statistics....they can and are fiddled.

My charity is to go along and personally do something...not donate money, but donate myself......

Then I know for sure what's being done and what's not being done.
My Sister and Brother-in-law, give a lot of time to the Tinker Brook Gardening project for mentally handicapped people. Quiet but effective giving to charity. I hate people who shake tins in front of me............Bah...Humbug.

WillowTheWhisp · 18-10-2004, 06:41

Some tin shakers can be quite aggressive can't they? I don't mind them being there, and when I come across one I often drop something in the tin, likewise I buy a copy of The Big Issue and tend to put a few odd coppers (OK well maybe a bit more than that) in the door to door envelopes but I am getting rather peeved now with charities which I donate to on a regular monthly basis getting in touch with me to ask for more. I'm afraid my instinctive reaction to that is to cancel the whole thing.

staggeringman · 18-10-2004, 14:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

The sad thing about charities these days is that such a lot of the money they collect is spent here in the UK. They spend it on plush offices, executive salaries, expense accounts and advertising. Hmmm, who does that sound like?

The money from the sale of Chaigley Manor (£600,000+) is with the trustees. They intend using it to fund childrens projects.

hi bob just think of what they could have sold it far if they had held out anouther couple of years, the finance of running the place was o.k. i used to talk to the warden who ran it, it was just that people who had not been there from accrington thought it was a workhouse. they got people in from other countries and further afield than accrington.

staggeringman · 18-10-2004, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

Some tin shakers can be quite aggressive can't they? I don't mind them being there, and when I come across one I often drop something in the tin, likewise I buy a copy of The Big Issue and tend to put a few odd coppers (OK well maybe a bit more than that) in the door to door envelopes but I am getting rather peeved now with charities which I donate to on a regular monthly basis getting in touch with me to ask for more. I'm afraid my instinctive reaction to that is to cancel the whole thing.

why are we so soft when it comes to contributions willow,we get all the sob stories then part with our money but dont see where it goes the air ambulance you see in the sky,R.N.L.I you see them and read about them all the time,barnadoes ? my pensioners have a good hearty meal and company for the day, the mind boggles.

Tealeaf · 05-11-2004, 16:46

I know this ones been parked up for a while, but I just had a quick look at tonight's Telegraph. It seems that the mob who run the knackers yard at the top of Ossy are whinging about their need for cash again. It's bad enough them coming round sticking their collecting tin under my nose whenever I'm having a quiet pint, but to actually start moaning now, in the week leading up to Rememberance day,is beyond contempt. I'll give my dosh to the Legion and to the RNLI and the rest can stuff it, especially these so called animal charities.

Busman747 · 05-11-2004, 17:13

I don't know about "The Stag"(too busy drinking to notice) but I see more and more collection boxes actually chained to the bars or counters at the local shops.........it is sad that there are a few members of the public that cannot be trusted to respect pennies given to a good cause

Anyone who sinks so low as to deprive charities like this should be hammered in the courts.