Seems like everyone has their hands out...

[Alicnwondrln]

i think its tough out there
we have given 5 bags of baby clothes to big brother and sister plus 2 bags of adulyt lclothes
we gave away 2 carriages, a bouncy seat and some other babystuff to salvation
35 dollars to salvation army
a donation to katrina
i gave $ last night to the giving tree for a little boy for a wonderful cause
I feel good about giving but this a.m. we had a call from breast cancer and salvation army
i hate to admit it but i was aggravated we have given enough to salavation army this year

 

[golfgal]

I simply tell them I already gave and leave it at that. I never say I already gave to X charity because that would be a lie, what I mean is that I already gave to something, my preferred charities. I have never had a problem with people when I say that.

 

[snuggles4u]

Here's what I don't get -- I go into our local dollar tree store. Every time I go, they ask if I want to donate a toy for a child. Sure, they toys are $1 ... so tell me why I have to pay tax on that toy if it's a donation!?

I don't mind donating when I can ... but I do feel like a jerk when I have to say no.

That doesn't sound right to me. I worked in retail, and always had to solicit $1 donations from customers for the store's charity. We had a specific procedure on the cash register to make the donation tax exempt. Don't think it's worth arguing to get your tax back, but just a thought for next time you are solicited at a store!

 

[kydisneyfans]

The problem with the retail areas is that stores often have prizes for the clerks who sell the most (fill in the blank.. shoes, trees, etc) for a dollar. You get pushed while leaving as the cashier may have a $25.00 gift card waiting for them at the end of the day if they sell enough things to hang from their wall.

If the retailer has $25.00 to give an employee for selling these things, they should just give the money directly to the charity and stop pushing things so hard and leaving bitter feelings in the mouths of their customers.

 

[VSL]

The people who stop you in the middle of town/the street/wherever who want you to donate to this charity and that charity... we call them Chuggers in the UK.
Charity Muggers.

 

[Lachesis00]

My work use to do something with the Salvation Army where you made up Christmas "baskets" or supported a family at Christmas....

We went out of our way... found a lot of excellent deals, this was back when you could find a lot of wonderful sales via the internet...

When we donated all the gifts and food (all we had was ages/sizes) my boss found out the Salvation Army felt we "gave too much to one family" and proceeded to go through the gifts and divvy it out to other families (not even the ones who didn't have sponsors) so it would be "even"

I guess what got me is we went out of our way for this one family and in the end they got maybe 1/5th of what we had bought them. That goes for the food too. Never once were we told this might happen.
I feel for those who go with out, but I felt we were punished in a way. We didn't even know what gifts the family received until after the holidays... when they each wrote a letter of thanks. It felt odd.

I think programs like this are wonderful, but I have to admit, it left a bitter taste in my workplace and now I believe they donate differently, like for the soup kitchen or something.

I am always leery because I do not know for sure my money is going to the people or how it is being spent.

My mom always gets asked to donate to the disabled vets... my mom politely asks to be removed off their list because she has a brother who is a disabled vet and she has me who is disabled (not a vet tho). Every year she still gets the call.

 

[Belle1962]

Currently at work alone we have:

a mitten/hat/scarf tree
food bank barrels
adopt a family (and they are never small families)
and the yearly campaign for paycheck withdrawals to the charity of your choice.

In addition-my Supervisor went out on medical leave in mid-October. We collected for her. She stated before she left that she didn't want flowers or a plant. So the person who did the collecting got her a microwave (to make meals easier) and some groceries. Well, she asked this person who donated and HOW MUCH--and that person told them. BAAADDDD judgement call. My supervisor is due back this week and the message we got was that she was very unhappy with the amount given to her collection and she has a huuugggeee chip on her shoulder. (With performance appraisals due by the end of December) We also had the chance to donate vacation time to help her cover her lost time and she was very unhappy with that also. She feels we all could have dug a little deeper for her.

Then out shopping we have the bell ringers, giving trees, donate a $1.00 to buy..shoe, bell, food bank, etc., and Toys for Tots.

I feel "burnt out" by all the asking. And yes, I do feel guilty when I just walk by or say no. (However, when my DGS is with me, we never pass up a bell ringer--he gets such a charge putting the dollar into the kettle)

 

[rigs32]

I used to work for a SUNY school. Each year they have organized giving where donations are taken straight from your check and there is a fair amount of pressure to donate, as they tabulate both dollar amounts given and percentages of employees participating. You could choose any charty from their list - literally hundreds.

I never donated, however. If you read the entire brochure, you'd notice that 10% of all money donated was taken off the top to organize the organized giving. So, if I donated $100 to Planned Parenthood, PP only received $90. Considering that charities also have their own administrative expenses, that cuts the dollars going to fund actual research or activities even more.

I tried to point this out to other people, but as most people in my department didn't understand numbers, they didn't understand the concept. I just got questioned why I chose not to donate.

 

[lulugirl]

I don't feel guilty at all when I say no to certain charities. I am very particular about the organizations I donate money to.

 

[TDC Nala]

I like that old phrase "I gave at the office"

 

[Michie]

I really don't have a probelm saying no when somebody asks me for a donation.....but I have been trying my best to avoid walmart, have been going to... is it Dollar General or General Dollar? Anyway, everytime I go there they hit me up for donations to at least one organization. Today it was 2. It is really starting to turn me off from shopping there.

 

[MrsPete]

I just say politely "no thank you." I don't feel obligated, nor do I feel guilty. I work hard to provide for my son and he (and I) and my other family members come first.

About 20 years ago a relative of mine had 2 small boys (under five) and didn't have beds for them. She was a single mother that was newly divorced with not a dime to her name. She called every agency around and no one would help her. Not even the Salvation Army. They all wanted money for the beds/mattresses. To this day that still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I think the problem may have been that her need was a MATRESS. If she'd needed, say, a dresser or a kitchen table, she might have received more help. Why? It's illegal to sell a used /donate a used mattress (at least in my state). I know this because I was going to put one in my yard sale, and my mother (who works for DSS and is involved with lots of "help us, please" requests) warned me not to do it. Chances of being caught were slim, but it would've been a bummer to be fined by the police for selling an item for $5.

 

[Marseeya]

When we donated all the gifts and food (all we had was ages/sizes) my boss found out the Salvation Army felt we "gave too much to one family" and proceeded to go through the gifts and divvy it out to other families (not even the ones who didn't have sponsors) so it would be "even"

What nerve! I would have been livid!

When I was little, my grandfather did a ton of volunteer work. In fact, I have no idea what he lived off of financially because ALL of his time was spent volunteering. Anyway, he did this annual food, toy, and clothing drive for Thanksgiving and Christmas where he'd collect things to put in baskets for needy families in our town. They called him Mr. Santa Claus. I think what really worked about his program was that it was a small endeavor (relatively small compared to Salvation Army) that really made a difference for all those families. There was no red tape, no BS, no egos to contend with. Some of these charity organizations get to be too big for their britches.

 

[Marseeya]

In addition-my Supervisor went out on medical leave in mid-October. We collected for her. She stated before she left that she didn't want flowers or a plant. So the person who did the collecting got her a microwave (to make meals easier) and some groceries. Well, she asked this person who donated and HOW MUCH--and that person told them. BAAADDDD judgement call. My supervisor is due back this week and the message we got was that she was very unhappy with the amount given to her collection and she has a huuugggeee chip on her shoulder. (With performance appraisals due by the end of December) We also had the chance to donate vacation time to help her cover her lost time and she was very unhappy with that also. She feels we all could have dug a little deeper for her.

(sorry I just have no words for that kind of ignorance! what a witch!)

 

[Marseeya]

I think the problem may have been that her need was a MATRESS. If she'd needed, say, a dresser or a kitchen table, she might have received more help. Why? It's illegal to sell a used /donate a used mattress (at least in my state). I know this because I was going to put one in my yard sale, and my mother (who works for DSS and is involved with lots of "help us, please" requests) warned me not to do it. Chances of being caught were slim, but it would've been a bummer to be fined by the police for selling an item for $5.

Wow, I never knew that. It's sad, too, because (at least in my state) people can really get in trouble with CPS if they don't have proper beds for their kids.

 

[MrsPete]

I also hate to be asked to donate a dollar at the grocery store, a dollar at the gas station, a dollar at the skating rink . . . I always say, "We prefer to donate through our church", which is the truth. By donating there, we know that the money is going to charities of which we approve, we know that it's not going for administrative costs, and by donating to only one place it's easier to write it off on taxes. Because this is the truth, I don't feel a bit bad about it.

The one I really hate is the Police Benevolent Society -- I might not have the name exactly right -- the police only get something like 10-20% of the money, and the organization that solicits for them gets the rest!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Wow, unbelievable some of these stories here.

I still get a chuckle from the Mickey Mouse version of Scrooge

"If I give money to the poor-they won't be poor anymore. And if they aren't poor anymore, you won't have a job anymore. Now don't ask me to put you out of a job--not on Christmas Eve?".

I've stood out in front of Walmart--a real volunteer who has no incentives on the line isn't going to care if you say no or not. They should not place judgement on people. Not everyone can give to everything.

I have a friend who will not donate to "beggers"--but will donate to those who are actually working for their money--this is in terms of the child fundraisers or sports related fundraisers. Not to be confused with the bell ringers. She was speaking specifically of children who are fundraising for personal benefit (trip, sports equipment and the like).

I had one kid who gave me a pitiful attitude when I said I didn't have any money. At first I read it as disappointment--so scrounged for some change--and the little buggar....who was PO'd b/c I had said no. Luckily his trip leader caught this and said something to him. Being a brat is not the way to turn a "no thank you" into a "oh look---I do have a dollar after all".

Don't feel bad--they are there at the mercy of the store and the store will not welcome them if they become a nuisance to customers whose primary purpose at the store is to SHOP.

 

[summerrluvv]

I think the problem may have been that her need was a MATRESS. If she'd needed, say, a dresser or a kitchen table, she might have received more help. Why? It's illegal to sell a used /donate a used mattress (at least in my state). I know this because I was going to put one in my yard sale, and my mother (who works for DSS and is involved with lots of "help us, please" requests) warned me not to do it. Chances of being caught were slim, but it would've been a bummer to be fined by the police for selling an item for $5.

I didn't know it was illegal to sell a mattress. I see them at the local thrift store all the time. They have an entire row of them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I didn't know it was illegal to sell a mattress. I see them at the local thrift store all the time. They have an entire row of them.

Must be a different state. Mattresses are always being sold in Florida second hand--via classifieds, garage sales, and such. Not sure on the thrift stores--since I'm not in the market for one, I hadn't checked recently.

Can't imagine the illegality given the amount of germs and such that can be contained in a second hand couch.

 

[summerrluvv]

Must be a different state. Mattresses are always being sold in Florida second hand--via classifieds, garage sales, and such. Not sure on the thrift stores--since I'm not in the market for one, I hadn't checked recently.

Can't imagine the illegality given the amount of germs and such that can be contained in a second hand couch.

Now that I remember, I saw a Dateline or 20/20 special on mattresses. Many companies would take old mattresses and recover them and sell them as new. They did a whole undercover thing on this business and it was really nasty what they found in those mattresses.

I don't think it's against the law to sell a used mattress, only to recover an old mattress and sell it as new.