Charity begins at home
I like to think I do my bit for charities.
I don't have much, but in the grand scheme of things I have more than some so it's only right that I should do my little bit.
My problem is though that the number of charities I can contribute to are becoming few and far between.
Take for example the cancer charities. I always supported them on their collection days as I thought it was a good cause.
Now I'll cross the street to avoid the temptation of telling the collectors to fuck off with their collections.
You see, I discovered that these charities that were collecting cash "for vital research" were in fact funding the fat salaries of the likes of ASH [the anti-smoker crowd, not the animal rescue centre]. If they can afford to do that then they don't need my donations. And why the blue fuck should I contribute to the salaries of someone who campaigns against me and my lifestyle, and who is trying his utmost to "denormalise" me?
Then there are the children's hospitals. I recently donated a relatively large sum [relative to my income, that is] to one of the children's hospitals here in Ireland. Now I discover that that same hospital is "topping up" its chief's already fat salary by an amount that far exceeds my total pension. They say that the "top up" does not come out of donations but comes from their own commercial interests within the hospital, such as the sweet shop but that is just a load of accounting bollox. As far as I am concerned, if the hospital is so desperate for cash then they can use the profits from their shop to do something useful.
Every now and then there is a tragedy that hits the news. An earthquake here, a hurricane there or a drought somewhere else, Immediately the charities spring into action with appalling [and probably stock] photographs of the "poor suffering children". Am I going to donate to one of those charities only to discover that for every €100 donated, maybe 50 cents gets through to the victims after they have extracted necessary "overheads" such as massive salaries? They can fuck off. I'm not taking that chance.
So I am confining myself now to charities that I know and trust There are a few here in Ireland that I know do incredibly hard work on very tight budgets and I like to help 'em out whenever I can.
And there is always ASH.
The real ASH where every cent is welcome and vitally needed.
Not the other ASH who just take fat salaries to lobby the government.
They can go fuck themselves.
It's a sorry state of affairs, but I'm exactly the same in my attitude to charities. Nowadays, I confine my charity to direct and personal gifts. Ok, the guy outside the supermarket in a wheelchair and no legs might be a bit of a scammer, but I'd rather give my money to him than to some fat executive with a company Maybach.
The sad thing is that it only takes a few to sour the pitch for all the rest. I have no qualms about giving to a good cause provided that cause isn't some bastard's fat salary.
And let's not forget the political mobs who have their annual church gate collections. As if they didn't roger us enough financially!
I'm a man like yourself, GD; my charitable deeds this silly season will be going towards Paw Pourri in Ennis. A couple of sacks of dry dog food and some blankets. Dogs, in my opinion are far more human than humans will ever be.
The rest of those "charities" can sit on their thumbs and do the twist.
Not that I ever hang around church gates, but those fuckers would just get a laugh in the face. I never have, and never will give a red cent to any political party.
I couldn't agree more about dogs. I have never yet been stabbed in the back by one.
It is easy to get cynical and disillusioned about some of these domestic and foreign charities. There is the 'expenses' issue – how much donated money goes to executive salaries, how much goes on advertising, how much on transport? There is a Latin word called caritas meaning love. When I read that some CEOs of third world aid organisations are paid far in excess of 100K euro per annum, while volunteers (PBI or poor bloody infantry) sent to Africa and Asia get an 'allowance' of maybe 500 euro per month and a 'resettlement allowance' of perhaps 1500 euro after finishing a stint of 18 months 'in the field', I feel uneasy. Charity has become too institutionalised; it is too easy for anybody to organise collections for charity. The Irish have a reputation for passing round the hat when it comes to floods, earthquakes and famines. This reputation has attracted several British-based aid groups to Ireland in recent decades. The amounts donated spontaneously to overseas disasters often means a shortfall in donations received by domestic charities. St. V de P are constantly under pressure from the hard done by all around our neighbourhoods. Then there are raffles for local schools and sports clubs. Then there are the Big Issues sellers in towns, and the beggars. It's hard to say No and hard to assume that the social services can/should look after the hardest cases. I personally over the years, when living in Ireland, have taken every cause domestic, local or foreign on a case-by-case basis. There are many anomalies and many hard cases Grandad. Thanks for raising the issue. Some donations make a concrete difference.
The problem with charities is that they are completely unaccountable. At the very least their books should be fully open to public scrutiny so that we can see exactly where the money is going. I would like to know who is being paid what, and precisely what percentage of my donation is actually going to hit the target.
Also there are far too many "charities" that aren't in fact charities at all but are just lobby groups or quasi political movements.
As you say – play by ear, but it is becoming more and more difficult.
I'm with you on this GD.
I'm delighted that you touched on this nasty topic. To use a Cork expression, I wouldn't give most of them the steam off my piss. In the City sometimes, I see guys just sitting there aimlessly with a hat in front of them while others play some music and appreciate a few bob if they can get it. Herself always says to me that they only want the money for drink, not realizing that that is a good enough excuse for me to cheer them up with it from time to time. I did an interview with a homeless charity a while ago who were looking for a manager for their Cork facility. The salary was €98,000 a year which staggered me but what knocked me sideways was the uncomfortable feeling that the three-person interview panel were more interested in whether I would be 'one of them' than any ideas and enthusiasm I had about improving the lot of the homeless. Needless to say, I didn't get the job.
Totally agree especially about cancer research and their demonisation of smokers and I loathe the fact that my taxes go to fake charities like ASH and others like it, let them survive on donations I don't think they would get much! My late husband once had a contract with Oxfam and said he would never give them another penny after seeing the luxury of their offices, expense accounts and contempt for the volunteers who run the shops. I confine my donations to a small local animal charity and that's it.
Totally agree, I am a sailor and happily give to the RNLI, I do so because I want to and nobody is telling me to do so on some fucking TV ad. It's just legal begging, they can all go fuck themselves as far as I'm concerned.