When I could afford it, I donated to Dogs' Trust. I like that they never put a healthy dog down, whereas the RSPCA have a time limit on the length of time they keep a dog for.
I know someone who is a cat person. All of her cats are collared and microchipped. One went missing one day, she searched and put up posters, and someone rang and said that the RSPCA had been round, rounding up 'strays'. She checked, and found out her cat (who was being treated for an eye infection) had been humanely destroyed the same day as it was picked up (due to the eye infection). They hadn't even bothered checking for the microchip before destroying it, they only did it as an afterthought. So I won't support them. When I get another job, I will definitely start to sponsor a dog again.
I used to work for a national charity and moved on as did most of the staff we objected to funds that were raised locally by people's kindness and sheer hard work not being spent locally, and in my view used to fund ever increasing tiers of management. I now support the independant charity for the same cause which the break away staff formed. They guarantee that all funds raised by the people of that borough will be used to support people in the borough. I will also give for national disasters but how much of your donation actual helps the needy one can only guess.
It might seem harsh but I don't give to countries who starve their own people but have money & resources for weapons...or I don't think I do.
If you hear a loud yell it was me, as I went to unlock the door this morning two more of those plastic bags were in the letter box that is six in four days this week. What a waste of money for something that has almost fallen off the planet, who bothers with them now, I see the odd one around here where once most did conribute. I fell out with Oxfam years ago when seeing their oncosts and what actually went to aid people. Frank.
Obviously, charities have running costs, but I quite agree with your comment about Oxfam, Frank. I support Tear Fund, which has minimal running costs, uses existing agencies overseas and makes a real difference to people's lives.
I know many people's needs are desperate, but I object to agreeing to a monthly donation to a charity and then getting a phone call asking me quite insistently to increase it. Older people are major contributors to charities and often do it at a sacrifice. I don't think this practice is ethical, especially if they have not taken acount of the age of the person they call.
G/G, my donations are by letter, the Salvation Army come round once a year and I never refuse them. The local Hospice for adults and children is two fields away so I take it in twice a year. Two Army charities for obvious reasons and the Air Ambulance plus a local Care Home that helped when we needed them. As a pensioner on fixed income I give what I can afford as to phone calls and door knockers they get a polite sorry, "unless" they get stroppy, then the old RSM comes to the for and they leave chastened. Having seen real poverty in various overseas postings I laugh at people in this country saying they are poor, they do not know what poor is, yet knowing the overseas aid goes oft astray with the people in most need getting the least I refrain from adding to the arms race which is where a lot of it goes.
Again, I quite agree, Frank. Private giving is on a much smaller scale than government aid, but it does a lot more good because it really goes to the point of need. I have read stories of money being given to bore wells in India for the poor and the wells were bored on the land of rich people, for example, and it seems that a lot is spent on armaments. Government aid is too often given in return for trade advantages or political alliances and can be not much more than a bribe. Right wing Americans think that supporting the poor is not a function of government and that it all should be done through charitable giving. Not sure that I agree - but they have a point when one considers the corruption involved.
Thats what bugs me about overseas aid to India and various African countries. If they can afford nuclear weapons, we shouldn't give them anything until they sort out their priorities. Despots in African countries line their swiss bank accounts, but the locals starve and can't have drugs for HIV.
Whilst there are a lot of people who give their time freely to charitable causes, for many it is just another business.
I hate it when visiting a wc to spend time drying my hands only to find they are wet again opening the door after someone has washed but not dried their hands
"Oh Bev" you are obviously not giving your custom to the better loos, they have dispensers for wipes to use opening the door with then a bin for the cloth outside. Possibly more waste to upset the greens but then having to see those stupid windmills that spoil the sea view from Redcar I like to upset them. Hygene in modern loos is none existent as a rule so the way to go is carry a pack of your own hand wipes, of course that is even more rubbish to get rid off. Watching a woman sneeze over an open display of fancy cakes in M&S turned me off ever buying them, we can only be as clean as the next person wishes to be and seeing what can be picked up off supermarket trolley handles makes you think. Oh well we only die once!!
Posts
When I could afford it, I donated to Dogs' Trust. I like that they never put a healthy dog down, whereas the RSPCA have a time limit on the length of time they keep a dog for.
I know someone who is a cat person. All of her cats are collared and microchipped. One went missing one day, she searched and put up posters, and someone rang and said that the RSPCA had been round, rounding up 'strays'. She checked, and found out her cat (who was being treated for an eye infection) had been humanely destroyed the same day as it was picked up (due to the eye infection). They hadn't even bothered checking for the microchip before destroying it, they only did it as an afterthought. So I won't support them. When I get another job, I will definitely start to sponsor a dog again.
I used to work for a national charity and moved on as did most of the staff we objected to funds that were raised locally by people's kindness and sheer hard work not being spent locally, and in my view used to fund ever increasing tiers of management. I now support the independant charity for the same cause which the break away staff formed. They guarantee that all funds raised by the people of that borough will be used to support people in the borough. I will also give for national disasters but how much of your donation actual helps the needy one can only guess.
It might seem harsh but I don't give to countries who starve their own people but have money & resources for weapons...or I don't think I do.
If you hear a loud yell it was me, as I went to unlock the door this morning two more of those plastic bags were in the letter box that is six in four days this week.
What a waste of money for something that has almost fallen off the planet, who bothers with them now, I see the odd one around here where once most did conribute.
I fell out with Oxfam years ago when seeing their oncosts and what actually went to aid people.
Frank.
Obviously, charities have running costs, but I quite agree with your comment about Oxfam, Frank. I support Tear Fund, which has minimal running costs, uses existing agencies overseas and makes a real difference to people's lives.
I know many people's needs are desperate, but I object to agreeing to a monthly donation to a charity and then getting a phone call asking me quite insistently to increase it. Older people are major contributors to charities and often do it at a sacrifice. I don't think this practice is ethical, especially if they have not taken acount of the age of the person they call.
G/G, my donations are by letter, the Salvation Army come round once a year and I never refuse them. The local Hospice for adults and children is two fields away so I take it in twice a year.
Two Army charities for obvious reasons and the Air Ambulance plus a local Care Home that helped when we needed them.
As a pensioner on fixed income I give what I can afford as to phone calls and door knockers they get a polite sorry, "unless" they get stroppy, then the old RSM comes to the for and they leave chastened.
Having seen real poverty in various overseas postings I laugh at people in this country saying they are poor, they do not know what poor is, yet knowing the overseas aid goes oft astray with the people in most need getting the least I refrain from adding to the arms race which is where a lot of it goes.
Frank.
Again, I quite agree, Frank. Private giving is on a much smaller scale than government aid, but it does a lot more good because it really goes to the point of need. I have read stories of money being given to bore wells in India for the poor and the wells were bored on the land of rich people, for example, and it seems that a lot is spent on armaments. Government aid is too often given in return for trade advantages or political alliances and can be not much more than a bribe. Right wing Americans think that supporting the poor is not a function of government and that it all should be done through charitable giving. Not sure that I agree - but they have a point when one considers the corruption involved.
Thats what bugs me about overseas aid to India and various African countries. If they can afford nuclear weapons, we shouldn't give them anything until they sort out their priorities. Despots in African countries line their swiss bank accounts, but the locals starve and can't have drugs for HIV.
Whilst there are a lot of people who give their time freely to charitable causes, for many it is just another business.
There's corruption everywhere - sadly, its human nature. The old saying that 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is still true,
I'm going to change the tone of the rant
I hate it when visiting a wc to spend time drying my hands only to find they are wet again opening the door after someone has washed but not dried their hands
"Oh Bev" you are obviously not giving your custom to the better loos, they have dispensers for wipes to use opening the door with then a bin for the cloth outside.
Possibly more waste to upset the greens but then having to see those stupid windmills that spoil the sea view from Redcar I like to upset them.
Hygene in modern loos is none existent as a rule so the way to go is carry a pack of your own hand wipes, of course that is even more rubbish to get rid off.
Watching a woman sneeze over an open display of fancy cakes in M&S turned me off ever buying them, we can only be as clean as the next person wishes to be and seeing what can be picked up off supermarket trolley handles makes you think.
Oh well we only die once!!
Frank.