Living and working in London, it seems that I am now unable to travel anywhere without being stopped by someone wearing a vest with the name of a charity on it and a clip board wanting me to hand over my bank details so that said charity can deduct a monthly donation.
When I first encountered this several years ago, I thought it was quite a good idea, but now it has proliferated to such an extent that it I find it infuriating. It seems that every single day there is a group of these people outside every single tube station. Is it just me, or has this got way out of control? Is this just a London thing, or is this happening all over?
It drives me insane that everytime I go anywhere I am loaded with this tremendous guilt trip. I hate being asked “Can you spare a minute for poor dying children?” because the answer to that question would be yes, but in fact the actual question is “can you donate £3 / month to every charity in the known universe?” to which the answer is “no”. I already have monthly standing orders to about 10 charities which I have chosen to support and at this point in time I can’t afford to regularly support anymore, but I still feel guilty. Even if the people stopping me are representing a charity which I support I still feel uncomfortable.
This irritates me to such and extent that it discourages me from supporting charities that I otherwise would consider supporting.
Does this irritate other people too, or am I just being a mean-hearted misery?
It doesn’t sound like such a good idea to me. Giving a perfect stranger access to your bank account just because they’re wearing a vest with the name of a charity on it? :eek: It would be too easy to get scammed!
Even if they all were legit, I wouldn’t want to encourage this form of fundraising, just due to the annoyance factor. I’d respond the same way I do to phone solicitors: immediately say, “Sorry, I don’t respond to this form of appeal.” Then walk away. No guilt and no explanation required. If you can’t say “No” without feeling guilty, you might as well go through life with “I’m a pushover” tattooed on your forehead.
A children’s hospital was doing a big street collection campaign here last week. The first guy that stopped me got a euro. I then asked did he have a badge or a sticker so I can show I’ve given. Nope, he had nothing. So I had to walk 15min’s past about 20 other guys/lassies asking for money for the same hospital. One even looked at me as if I was scum for not putting money in her tin. Grrrrrrrrrr
Over here as well. Every time I walk down a main street I get asked to sign up for Sight Savers, Concern or Amnesty. There are many more but they’re the regulars.
Here too. I no longer carry cash when I’m downtown and use my bankcard for everything. I gave till it hurts but it’s easier not to have money on me than explain once a block that allthough I’d like to give a donation I’ve already done so to someone else.
Yeah, I’ve signed up to three charities this way. However, something you might want to bear in mind - and the thing that caused me to choose a different signing-up method - is that apparently if you sign up this way then the “sales” rep gets a significant cut of commission of each and every contribution you henceforth make. They ain’t doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, it would seem.
I now want to expand my original rant to incorporate all reprehensible means by which charities canvas for cash. One charity I donated to sold my contact details to every vaguely child related charity in the world, near enough. For about 6 months I got begging letters almost every day. One was ostensibly from a nun in India. It was mass produced but it had a 2 pence piece (i.e 2 cents approximately) taped to the letter. The gist of the letter was that if I sent the 2 pence back I would be saving a child’s life.
So why send it to me in the first place ASSHOLE. I was so disgusted by this approach that I stopped supporting the charity that had passed on my details. Why do charities do this kind of thing? Does it really work? Isn’t it enough just to advertise?