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Street Charity (half rant)
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
i figured this would be the right place to put this so i could get some views on what other people think
now i work in the high street of a not particuarly bustling or large town, however everytime i leave my work on lunch or whatever at least 3 times a week there are several charitys out there and i get asked by everyone down the road, what really irritates me is that they actually try and make you feel guilty if you dont sign up.i have two charitys i give to by direct debit every month (R.S.P.S.A and marie curie) so im not a particularly stingy person or some sort of scrooge with no social conciense, but i do feel bullied into signing up. now there mostly students and they do get commision on when they sign someone up which is another reason i wont give, they have no passion for the charity and are only in it for themselves, id happily give to the poppy fund or the salvation army etc when it is one man out there with a tin with no pressure.
the point im trying to make is, should this be allowed? when you cant walk down the high street without being stopped or being made to feel bad or guilty for not talking to them when in all honesty i dont make a lot of money and i dont need to be hassled during my breaks, if i want to give to charity i will but not through bully boy tactics.
grrr :mad:
now i work in the high street of a not particuarly bustling or large town, however everytime i leave my work on lunch or whatever at least 3 times a week there are several charitys out there and i get asked by everyone down the road, what really irritates me is that they actually try and make you feel guilty if you dont sign up.i have two charitys i give to by direct debit every month (R.S.P.S.A and marie curie) so im not a particularly stingy person or some sort of scrooge with no social conciense, but i do feel bullied into signing up. now there mostly students and they do get commision on when they sign someone up which is another reason i wont give, they have no passion for the charity and are only in it for themselves, id happily give to the poppy fund or the salvation army etc when it is one man out there with a tin with no pressure.
the point im trying to make is, should this be allowed? when you cant walk down the high street without being stopped or being made to feel bad or guilty for not talking to them when in all honesty i dont make a lot of money and i dont need to be hassled during my breaks, if i want to give to charity i will but not through bully boy tactics.
grrr :mad:
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Comments
as a rule i don't give to any charity that can afford to pay street collectors £8 an hour.
£8 an hour? thats sickening, thats more than i get
Give money to whichever charity or organisation you feel strongly in favour of. Don't give money through guilt in the High Street if you don't want to. Just say "No Thank you" and walk on.
You're learning
:yeees: gimp.
Anyway I agree, I’d much rather give by just giving some money to one person with a tin rather than someone pressuring me into signing up.
I guess the charities do it because it raises money for them that helps them carry on with their work.
Kinda on the same lines I’ve often thought the NSPCC spends too much on advertising but I’m sure they’d argue that their advertising gets them more in donations.
If a charity can afford to pay agencies to do this then it doesn't need my money. It's why I don't give to Amnesty or Oxfam in particular- they can pay their Chief Eexecutive a significant wedge of money (well over £75k pa) so they don't need my cash.
Especially when you see charities such as CHUF in Newcastle being pathetically grateful that Tim Healy agreed to be their patron.
why?
The agencies generally get paid nearly double the amount they pay their 'employees'
Exactly.
What also has pissed me off greatly recently is the Briotish Legion advertising the Poppy Appeal everywhere. I take great issue with the strapline "YTour chance to say thank you", but that isn't my point.
If that charity can afford to tens of millions of pounds on advertising something that everyone knows about anyway, it doesn't need mine, or anybody else's money.
i would hate to work in a bigger town or city, in Portsmouth they have them all the time, even buddhist monks or insecnce (sp?) sellers who would like a donation. they can fuck off and get a real job imo
probably!
i bet being a street charity person aint half bad, most people are too embarrased to be rude to them, however from now on i will be rude as i cant be assed being hassled for money everyday
Common misconceptions, its actually a very good way to give. The employee is paid for by the agency not the charity. The charity pays the agency for each donor signed up. This money comes from the charities marketing budget a sum which would normally spent on those envelopes that come through your door or media advertising.
The charity therefore achieves a guaranteed donation for its money rather than relying on the hope that people will respond to other paid for advertising. This is all regulated by the Charity Commission to make sure its not abused.
The other advantages are being able to budget more accurately as you have a regular income coming in by DD. Plus if the donor is giving from a taxable income the charity can claim back the tax under the government's Gift Aid scheme, giving it extra income. It is unable to do this with anonymous donations.
If you think the concept is good but still don't like chuggers you can always contact the charity direct and they will send you a form
But then I turned 18 so couldn't use it any more. One guy actually even stopped me even though I said I was 17, and then asked if I could give something like £15 a month! My response was something like "did you not just hear me say I'm 17? How the hell am I gonna give you £15 a month? And even if I did, it wouldn't be my money, it'd be my parents' so what's the point? Why not just ask them?"
Now I'm old enough I do want to give money to charity regularly, but I want to wait until I'm earning my own money as I still live on a parental allowance and student loan, plus a little from my part time job. My parents already give fuckloads of money to charity, they don't need me to start giving their money away as well and then asking them to bail me out when I've overspent.
I find most Issue sellers to be polite.
So?
Most Big Issue sellers are polite and funny people who are very reasonable. One or two are not, but that's just individual morons rather than the class of them. And I don't buy from them, and I have said before that I don't buy from rude people, and that shut them up.
If someone has the cash to own and wear a gold ring, they don't need my help.
I think that was the point rachie was making.
Thing is that the gold-ring could be an inheritance or something with an affectionate value.
If he is covered in bling-bling though, then I understand.
If it had emotional value, i wouldn't be wearing it.
The only jewellery I wear (and I really do keep it down to a minimum) is what has a personal value to me.