I give a lot to charity, especially for my income. But I dig it, it makes me feel good. I suspect a lot of Dopers give, too.
Lately I’ve been wondering about who receives charity. Have you ever received anything directly from a charity? I’m not talking like benefitting from MS or ALS or Cancer research. And not government programs. I’m talking a scholarship from the local Rotary, direct help from the Red Cross, food from a food pantry, treatment coverage from St. Jude’s.
When I was in high school I did receive a scholarship from some group but to be honest I don’t remember which group and it was unceremoniously awarded to me. I don’t even know how money was transferred (my dad paid for my college). Would be nice if I knew, I’d probably donate to them now. But it was 30 years ago.
When I got my dog from a local rescue group he was “on sale” for $75 so I guess I benefitted from the people who donate to the group. I donated $8/mo to them for 10 years.
When my dad was starting to explore his options with the VA, he met with a volunteer from the local Veteran’s Assistance group, which is a non-profit local group that helps veterans navigate the VA.
My friend’s sister stayed at the Ronald McDonald house when her baby needed a liver transplant. That’s about the most well-known charity I’m aware of anyone receiving. Pretty cool.
I’ve received plenty of benefits/freebies from a Diabetic clinic I frequent.
They are a private clinic and rely on private donations and money from the American Kidney assc.
I’m not required to pay when I go there but I always put a check in the donation box.
Not an official charity, but I was having lunch in crowded hole-in-the-wall diner in the past year, and my server told me as a I was finishing that another patron had paid for my lunch. I have done this in the past as well. I told the server thank you and then left the cost of the meal on the table for her as a tip.
This is an interesting question. I look forward to the replies.
Personally, no. Although I have benefited from the kindness of my friends when I needed a place to crash for a week or so after my first marriage broke up. I also had good family support throughout my life, including the abilty to borrow money from a brother once when things were getting a bit dicey. (I paid him back in full about 3 months later).
Just so this thread doesn’t get too far off topic, I’m looking for stories about actual charities, that work towards the goal of providing good, services and/or cash to people that fit within their goal. Not the kindness of strangers or helpful friends and relatives, or personal GoFundMe drives.
Not that that “small”, personal stuff isn’t awesome! But I’m coming at it from the perspective of someone who donates to these types of defined charities and would like to hear from recipients of their goodwill.
Feel free to share stories of others you know who have received charitable goods/services/cash as well.
You including churchy-type organizations, or strictly public?
During the years when I was intermittently homeless, I was occasionally the recipient of faith-based services, some more formal than others, some for which I’m grateful, others considerably less so. Anecdotes upon request.
Yeah churchy stuff is good. I know that my church, when I went to one, kept gift cards on hand. When someone in need stopped by to ask for help, our pastor would give them gift cards for groceries or gas. I think (I hope?) most churches consider themselves stewards of their physical community, not just of their spiritual one.
I can’t remember the name of the group. But it was an active charity. My son was contacted both times he came back from the Middle East offering help to returning service members for mental health care and navigating back into a non war zone.
I once spent nine months in a homeless shelter run by the Salvation Army. While there, the Lions Club got me new eyeglasses and I one of the odd jobs I did was for a local church, which paid me in some snacks from their food bank.
That’s cool! I’ve given glasses to the Lion’s Club. Did you just get whole new glasses (frames and lenses) from a glasses place or did they give you frames, and paid for new lenses, or what? I can’t imagine they re-use lenses but you never know…
I got a full ride scholarship in undergraduate school from a private foundation. Never applied for it, I think my university coordinated it somehow. It was for being academically gifted and poor and living in a specific town. The irony is I never would have qualified for it had I not legally emancipated my senior year and moved in with my Aunt in a different city. Just sheer blind luck saved me about $60,000 (More, actually. It took me forever to graduate.)
Now that I think about it, maybe my HS guidance counselor or someone put in an application.
I just remember going to the appreciation dinners, and boy were they nice. I wrote letters to them every year telling them how I was doing.
That’s awesome! Komen is such a big name in breast cancer but I don’t know anyone who has benefitted from it (I just don’t know anyone with breast cancer well enough to ask). Glad your sister got assistance from them!
Nah, not government programs. I am thinking more of charities people decide to donate to, and the eventual recipients of those donations. Not tax dollars.
Although government assistance can be pretty great too! When you’re in need, any little bit helps!
Wow that’s quite a charity to be able to give such a gift! Congratulations! I’m sure you doing so well with their money has been a highlight of their foundation.
As I recall – this was over 30 years ago – I still had the pair of government-issue horn-rim frames from when I was a Navy recruit and they paid for new lenses.
Peaceful Paths, a domestic violence agency in our area, used to supervise the visits of my ex-husband with our son. I guess that’s not charity work (in fact I think Ex had to pay), but they would do things like have holiday parties with gifts for the kids, and gave things to my daughter as well although she wasn’t one of the clients. Good people.
Yep. When I was about 19 or 20 years old. I had a tear in my retina that required laser surgery. Oddly enough it was in my good eye and not my bad eye. I didn’t take care of it when I first heard about it, cuz I simply did not have the money. However, when I saw my eye doctor the following year, he called me at home to beg me to get it looked at. Long story short, the Lions Club sponsored and covered the entire surgery. I always donate my old glasses to them if I can, and hope someday to pay it forward. If I ever quit being broke.
a) When I was hitching and moving around in the early 1980s, I was referred to a church-operated org that would feed me and give me a place to sleep. They put us all to work clearing rocks out of a field. I was happy to have something I could do for them in return for the food & shelter, but the attitude of the people with us out in the field was a bit offputting — a couple disapproving guys who acted like we’d done something wrong and were in the midst of being punished for it. Got on the bus back to the shelter, where we were served very cut-rate food and then herded into a room to get prayed upon. I cheerfully interrupted and dissented from their interpretation of theological points and soon got informed that I wasn’t supposed to do that. Asked why? After a few rinse-and-repeats of that, was informed that my social situation obviously proved I was wrong with God and should shut up. There was additional food available to those who professed to accept the lord on their terms; I didn’t; they got pushier; I left, deciding I’d forego the bed and consider the overall deal to be a bad one. Bait & switch.
b) I 1984, I emigrated to New York City, had resources but they dwindled on me without me being able to secure either rented room or job, ended up on the streets fending. In Queens, ran across a Sikh temple, open, invited to stay, got fed. The Sihk congregation was very kind to me and people made various recommendations for finding shelter and job opportunities. Their convenor (don’t know title: pastor, rabbi, whatever?) asked if anyone was in a position to take me in for the night, and someone did. Kindness there at the home, too, with them encouraging their young kids to play with me when they determined that I wasn’t bothered by them, slept on their sofa with a blanket they provided, and a ride to a recommended location for finding jobs the next morning.