On 12/13/2009 10:27, The Daring Dufas wrote:
George wrote:
On 12/13/2009 00:15, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message

Helping the less fortunate? Since when have people decide what they
will
accept as gifts? Bah Humbug, I don't need this crap.


Yeah, we get that at our office too, though thankfully I haven't
been put
through the wringer like you have. I always felt these 'adopt a family'
things were more for the benefit of the donors, to get a warm fuzzy
feeling, and less for the donees, who in a couple of weeks will be
right
back where they started. I saw the listings for the families to be
adopted, and judging from the clothes sizes and requested items alone,
they ain't starving or between a rock and hard place for basic
neccessities. Besides, I have my own under-employed and semi-functional
siblings to play safety net to. I prefer to donate my money to actual
charities.


I prefer to give cash to charities where I know it will be working
and doing
some good. Salvation Army is one, and a local nursing home is
another. They
have particular projects funded by donations where you can see the
results.


Yes, Salvation Army is just one of those groups where you never here
about anyone getting a $20 Million salary (they don't). They are a big
organization but behave as if they were local.

Another interesting charity is Heifer International. It was started by
a farmers. Their mission is to get animals and the proper training to
manage them into the hands of folks who can't afford them (teach a
person to fish...). They are also well rated for good use of donations
with most of the money going to the actual charitable work.

http://www.heifer.org/

I remember reading about some of the goofy things charitable
organizations have done in Africa. One group donated tractors
but no fuel, oil or spare parts. The villagers used the spark
plugs for earrings and the wiring for necklaces and various
parts of the tractors to decorate their huts. Another group
donated tons of powdered milk. They didn't know that the adults
couldn't digest the stuff so it wound up being used to paint
their homes. One European group sent condoms because of the
high birth rate and the AIDS epidemic. The condoms were used as
balloons because they were too small for their intended purpose.
Here at home I've done work for a small Episcopal church, not
because I was a member who shared their faith but because I liked
the nice people there. This tiny church had a soup kitchen and
would feed anyone who walked through the door. The church would
also give clothing to those in need. Well, crack heads broke in
and stole all the food and the people who received clothing
would not wash it, they would throw it away and come back for
more. I'm afraid I've developed a "Don't Feed The Bears" attitude
as I get older.

TDD


Sure and if you check into the organization I posted you will find that
they don't do what you described.

Life is filled with plenty of reasons to allow us to rationalize why we
shouldn't do something "I saw someone in a car accident on route 5 so I
won't go that way anymore", I went into that store over there five years
ago and had to wait at the checkout a long time so I have never gone
back" and on and on.

Clearly there are folks who have an entitlement mentality but clearly
there are a lot of folks who don't.