Why is it so hard to help out someone in need and how did we get to this point???

[Industrial Toys]

I volunteered at The Restore (Habitat for Humanity). They get a lot of stuff that are returns from Home Depot. The best stuff goes home to employees and volunteers, usually in some kind of pecking order. Same thing at the Church thrift store my Mom and Sister volunteer at. The public gets the rest of the broken and (missing parts) garbage.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

My food bank gets a lot of, out of shelf, life stuff from businesses. Thousands of dollars per year. In addition we get USDA commodities;so, we do accept Gov stuff in spite of their administrative requirements that stop a lot of faith based charities. That is thousands more. Food drives at the schools and the annual Post Office drive garner a lot more. We take no funds from the church general fund. Cash donations make up for what we have to buy. We probably issue $50K in foods every year with no overhead. Charity as it should be.

Ron

 

[ultrarunner]

I volunteered at The Restore (Habitat for Humanity). They get a lot of stuff that are returns from Home Depot. The best stuff goes home to employees and volunteers, usually in some kind of pecking order. Same thing at the Church thrift store my Mom and Sister volunteer at. The public gets the rest of the broken and (missing parts) garbage.

My neighbor got the most beautiful pedestal wood stove at Restore... really nice and I think it was $150 because it was no longer legal to install in that county but no problem where my friend lived... nice tiles and all...

The Holiday wreaths I made have been a bit hit... bigger than I would have guessed in that many no longer have the energy to decorate or go out to get things...

The wreath with bow on the front door is just enough to share the season...

The Christmas Tree farm hosted an event with the county food bank... it really worked out well... basically, anyone bringing a canned good got a picture with Santa... the event gathered a lot of food and was 100% volunteer across the board...

I will be the first to admit sometimes things like this don't occur to me... lucky my brother is more in tune and has a wide social net...

The farm also donates trees each year to non-profits.

Last year... a family in a rather old broken down pickup came into the Christmas Tree Lot at closing... The father, mother and 7 year old son came in... the Dad asked if we had any not so perfect trees that would be less expensive... while the son was drawn to a tree all the way in back... the tree was good size and marked $69.... the dad told his boy that maybe next year they could come back and get one... and the family got in the truck to leave... this was 3 days before Christmas...

I told my brother the problem and he had me stop them... the man rolled down the window and I told him Santa wants your boy to have that tree... the boy was so excited... kept saying see Dad, see Dad my wish came true and I don't care if Santa can't bring me any other presents.. the wife got emotional and thanked me... I said I had nothing to do with it... this came from the owner...

Mostly I think those giving just as much or more from the giving...

 

[dmccarty]

A friend & I were discussing the bell ringers standing with the red pot outside the grocery store. Y'know, I'd bet there are folks who never hear 'Merry Christmas' from anyone else. I have been concerned about whether the bell ringers ever pinched a bit of what's collected. Lately, I'm ashamed to have been so hesitant.

Just imagine that you are one of those people, perhaps having next to nothing and braving the weather to help others who might be in the same shape. I've decided that I wouldn't ever let such a petty reservation keep me from dropping bills into the SA pot. If those of us who 'have' are caught up in our own wishes, we're not living up to our best intentions.
...

For a few years I worked with the SA in the "back room" where the money is collected at the end of the night. Twas really interesting being a fly on the wall and listening to the SA major and his "managers" talk about the collections process. One shock to me was that some bell ringers are actually paid to collect money. :shocked: I always thought they were volunteers but that is not always the case. I THINK the bell ringers I see are volunteers but you don't really know. They were having problems with some paid bell ringers who where just collecting the pay and not really doing the "work." They were noticing how much money was being collected and it was well short of other bell ringers so it was obvious the bell ringers were really not "working." Kind sad statement about the human condition that a charity cannot get good help to ring a bell to collect money to help people.

At the other end of the extreme, they had a homeless guy who really did not want in a house at all, he liked being out there on his own and not tied down. He was there top collections guy and no other bell ringer came close to him in the amount of money being collected. He really knew how to get people to donate money and he was collecting a huge amount of money for the SA that far exceeded the pay he received. :thumbsup: The SA tried to get the guy to come in from the cold so to speak but he just wanted to be on his own. He would go to the SA for certain things but he simply would not accept all of the help the SA was more than willing to give. They kept trying but he wanted to live as he was living.

Anyway, if a bell ringer stole money, they would have to break/pick a lock and it would very likely be noticed. Once the money is passed on from the bell ringer there are some pretty good process in place to make theft difficult. The SA has a decent process collecting the money. It surely would be possible to steal, but where the money is gathered at the end of the night, there are multiple people working so they would all have to be in on the theft. Sometimes there are people like me hanging around that would make it even more difficult to steal the collection whether the thief was an insider or outside.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

I volunteered at The Restore (Habitat for Humanity). They get a lot of stuff that are returns from Home Depot. The best stuff goes home to employees and volunteers, usually in some kind of pecking order. Same thing at the Church thrift store my Mom and Sister volunteer at. The public gets the rest of the broken and (missing parts) garbage.

My mom, in spite of her health issues, volunteers at a thrift store and the workers do get first choice on stuff but they are supposed to pay. They do have a problem with one "worker" who is stealing from other employees and the organization. :shocked: Really pathetic that an organization trying to do good has to deal with thieves on the inside. <sigh>

Later,
Dan

 

[the old grind]

Dan, thanks for the info regarding SA. Friends who donated routinely were miffed when they heard the percentages actually going to a favorite cause. As more fakers appeared there were studies done and most I heard from said that SA has historically given the most service per dollar for our donations.

Yes, the other day a lady was ringing and singing carols. She might have been posted at our grocery store before and familiar to customers. Folks were running up to her and hugging her warmly. Our nightingale said to someone that she was indeed paid to stand (min wage) and wanted to do so much more for others who had been helped by the organization. Her voice was sweet too, and I always love to hear the SA bell.

Along with volunteering for RC blood drives my Mom worked with 'Read Feather' campaign, which eventually became United Way serving local charities en masse. Best thing I've noticed about web access to these nowadays is that I can donate anonymously and can often use PayPal. I really like some of the sneaky things guys have shared here and hope I can cook up a specialer or two locally. btw, Don't ya hate thinking you're picking a favorite sometimes and leaving someone out?

 

[om21braz]

There are lots of churches around here and anyone who needs help only has to ask at a church. However, the churches do verify their needs and communicate with other churches about helping unfortunate ones. If someone is truly in need, the churches are very generous, so all my giving is thru the church. I try to help out others physically or with something they might seem to need (such as a pair of welder's gloves with gauntlets for those that prune their rose bushes) - but just little things so they don't feel like they owe a return favor. I also try to downplay my financial situation and make sure that my donations are anonymous as well.

+1 As our pastor reminded us recently, if we did our part as the church should, there would not be a social services or welfare program. The government is a poor replacement for the church, but until we step up as a whole - people will continue to suffer. Sad indeed.

 

[gsganzer]

I randomly and anonymously pick up someone's meal tab numerous times throughout the year. Sometimes I'll be at a restaurant and I'll see an old couple enjoying a night out together. Another time, I saw a grandmother with her young grandson and I could tell the grandmother was undergoing cancer treatment. So I'll have the waiter add their bill to mine when I leave. Hopefully it gives them a nice surprise.

At the checkout line, our local grocery store has food bags you can buy. They ring them up and then place them in a cart that gets picked up for distribution to the needy.

 

[om21braz]

I know a few elderly that are struggling and thought with winter and the high utility cost that I would put a $100 on each of their accounts and call it a good deed for Christmas.

I was at the Pacific Gas and Electric window and my payments were refused... even spoke to a manager who said it would be a violation of privacy to allow me to pay a bill not my own...

All I can think is what kind of world have we become?

I paid my bill and then said I would like to put $100 on Mrs. Ann Jensen at XXXX Main Street Oakland CA...

It is just not Utilities but also Doctor visits and Hospitals which I am a part... ever since the confidentiality laws went into effect we spend a lot of time saying NO...

A typical call will go like this... My Mom, Mrs. Smith, is scheduled for knee surgery with Dr. Green tomorrow and I would like to confirm the time she needs to be there as I am providing transportation... we are not allowed to give a time or confirm schedule due to HIPA as the caller could be anyone... the best we can do is call the telephone number we have on the chart and ask for the patient by name... what a rigamarole...

Lots of irate people with added stress at a time with pending surgery... and we get an earful too... but we do not make the rules.

Might as well go for one more...

I manage rentals and the Utility has a program where it will turn off the pilot light in the summer... one of my tenants had the furnace pilot turned off by the utility and the home failed the city annual inspection due to non function heater...

I as property owner received the violation notice... so I called the Utility and asked why they would turn off the pilot in my home as I am the property owner... I was told my name isn't on the account so they cannot discuss anything with me...

I said... OK... I can play this game... I would like service in my name and the pilot lit immediately as the city failed my home as a habitability violation and will fax the violation from the city... then, as soon as the pilot is lit I will call in to end service...

I'm a nice guy but this nonsense drives me crazy...

End of rant...

Thanks for refusing to let the system get you down!

Here痴 a group I have spent time with in your general area that is getting it done helping many in need:

Dream Center - Faith-based Charitable Organization

They get well above one million pounds of food to those in need annually, not to mention the many other services they offer. Even more impressive are the people, many 25 and younger there every day to serve. I consider it a privilege to have been onsite a couple weeks there. Looking forward to going back.

 

[ultrarunner]

I was working yesterday and made a quick stop to pick up a sandwich... there was a middle age man counting out change... I asked if he was in line and he motioned me forward... looked like he was having a hard go of things.

Paid for my Sandwich and left $10 with the cashier for his purchase... he was visibly moved when told his purchase was covered the cashier pointed to me... he wanted to give me the change and I replied Merry Christmas...

I believe that any/all of us help those in need... the problem I see here a lot is there are so many scams and cons plus those that cannot be helped and trash any assistance offered.