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[Daisydot]

Well done you very compassionate xx

[CLKD]

It's the thought that counts and so far, I think about buying bulk when I'm not near a store  but am determined to help more this year.  I can't help across the World but I will feed my wild birds as well as local homeless projects.  People looked after me as I was growing up in the way of hand-me down clothing: cousins, neighbours, jumble sales - remember those  and whilst my younger sister was horrified, it never bothered me.  However, she now buys from charity shops  .

The thing Mum wouldn't accept were shoes.  At school there was a 'box' for end of Summer Term students to donate their uniforms into.  They were then mended by the needlework teacher and 'pressed', ready for children who were from large families.  No one seemed to mind, it was looking the same that was important.  Those without stood out more.  It was done tactfully. 

[Daisydot]

That was a great idea and should be done more nowadays we are so wasteful.x

[CLKD]

Some think that those who put monies into Notre Dame should contribute to other Charities.  Firstly I would remind everyone who thinks of giving to get hold of the 'company' accounts for the Charity that takes your fancy.  You may get a horrid surprise.  Which is why I now support with goods to the Food Bank nearby - so it goes into the store, is accounted for locally and handed out to people in our area.  Same with good quality shoes and clothing, it goes to the Shelter for local Homeless via the Church - to be sold in the shop for small amounts.  I get regular e-mail updates and can look on line at how monies are spent and where.

The bigger the Organisation the more people need paying!  Then it becomes a franchise under the headers of the Big Ones: RSPCA, Cats Protection - who get very little monetary help from HQ!  Been there, done it 

[sheila99]

And often a lot of it goes on advertising, prime time TV ads cost thousands. I support smaller charities because more of my donation goes towards the work.

[CLKD]

I'd forgotten about the adverts., as well as the chuggers that drive a marked vehicle and stand in town centres with stuffed dogs 

[Krystal]

CLKD well said. I too have looked at the so called impoverished charities who play on the good will of volunteers at a local level only to find that their HQ is very lavish. The people at a local level hold fund raising events such as bucket collections and cake stalls to keep the local branch going. This is where all the real hard work actually takes place only to find that the HQ team attend celebratory events at a cost which would keep the local branches going for years. You could argue that these celebratory events raise the profile of the charity under the guise of speculate to accumulate but is this really necessary?   


Chuggers are a menace to all. By law they are not allowed to approach you and ask directly for money but many do. I have experienced them actually standing in my pathway as I walked through the town, started their sales pitch and got abusive as I walked briskly around them.


Charity Bags through the door are another thing I cannot be doing with. The charity this week, usually has a name very similar to a well known charity local to the area. The company doing the bag collections is a registered clothing collection company, and the charity concerned is registered as a charity. The small print on the bag does say a donation from each bag will go to the charity, in reality only a very small percentage of the value of the contents of the bag is likely to go to the receipient. I have never contributed to any charity by leaving a filled bag on my doorstep. I always take any donations I may have directly to the local outlet of the charity of my choice. At least I know the donations will be used or sold on to the benefit of the charity concerned. Where I live there have been many warnings that these Charity Bags through the door may operated by scammers.

[CLKD]

They hail from Kettering - so look at the 'charity' name on the bags to see who is operating the collection and how much will go to the charity.  DH is always looking to check - we support mostly via local shops as bags have such similar logos etc. printed on  .  The ones through our door get used to hold freshly caught fish in ;-).

Many years ago a friend was employed as a money raiser, she had to buy posh frocks etc. [we're neither of us posh frock people  ] and get herself to venues to encourage people to put money towards the Charity requirements.  She was paid £25,000 per year ........... a certain amount have to be salaried in order to get honest people who are less likely to walk away with the monies. 

As for Notre Dame - it appears that many UK land owners will be offering up oak trees etc.  to help with the rebuilding .   One states that his ancestors were at Agincourt so feels it is time that he gave something back as he feels guilty 

[CLKD]

Here it is, do read B4 putting things into bags as all may not be what it seems!  Better to take directly so that the shop can make decisions as to what to keep and what to sell as rags therefore getting paid by weight.

[CLKD]

A stowaway kitten who survived a trip from Romania to the UK in a lorry has been described as a "little fighter".
The four-week-old, named Roman by his rescuers, was found severely dehydrated by warehouse staff in Bedford.
Roman was underweight and had swollen, inflamed eyes which had to be bathed before he could open them.


He needed intensive care, intravenous fluids and antibiotics and will spend three months in quarantine, sponsored by the charity Cats Protection, which has set up an appeal to pay for his care.[/u]

So: with all the monies CP has in it's coffers, isn't this something that the Charity Commission should be stopping?  Why does CP need an appeal ........ how do we know that this money will go into caring 4 this tiny kitten; which really, being so poorly and from abroad  .......... had it been one of us bringing a kitten in .............

[CLKD]

Why does any charity need to close 'centres'?  They have millions in the banks so why not put their hands into their pockets.  Even if the cages etc. aren't modern, then get some monies into the system at local level and bring them up to date !?!?!


An animal rehoming charity has closed four of its centres, shedding 66 jobs in the process.

Blue Cross centres in Cambridge, Lewknor in Oxfordshire, and Torbay and Tiverton in Devon closed on Wednesday.

Thousands had signed petitions set up by volunteers and supporters to try to lobby for the shelters to remain open.

However, the charity said the closures reflected "changes beyond our control in the last year" and would save Blue Cross £1m per year.

The animal welfare charity, which has been working throughout the UK since it was founded in 1897, said following "in-depth consultations" with staff it was putting in place "a new structure to improve services and reach even more pets in need".

[CLKD]

NT is selling off a wild flower meadow to builders and will 'endeavour to make sure that nature isn't disturbed to any great degree' or words to that effect.  Even though locals have crowd funded £K50 thus far, NT have sold ......... I wonder what is in their Constitution to allow them to sell land/properties that have been gifted?  We stopped our NT membership this year due to not being happy with the way they deal with issues.

[Taz2]

That's a shame. I hadn't heard about this. Which one have they sold?

Taz x

[CLKD]

I can't remember, it was in the Sat papers in a very small article - I meant to read it again but of course ..........  it makes my blood boil, how these charities can do what they like with public money 

[CLKD]

Interesting: the Telegraph headline was 'wild flower meadow' and it won't let me in 2 view articles unless I sign up to a subscription online.

However:

The National Trust has been criticised in a huge outpouring of anger after it agreed to sell three acres of peaceful woodland in Devon to a housing developer - after locals have raised £20,000 in a fighting fund to buy the land.

Now National Trust members are threatening to boycott the Trust over the decision to sell the three acres of wild land to the highest bidder.

Residents wanted to buy Bonds Meadow in Bovey Tracey from the Trust. The Save Bonds Meadow action group said: "There will be no more dawn chorus after the National Trust announced a deal this week to sell this woodland for development."

"We are going to fight for every single tree and every single dormouse," said campaigner Sally Morgan.


The National Trust said it had sold the land to the higher bidding developer because it was obliged to do so as a charity.

Campaign group Save Bonds Meadow had raised nearly £20,000 towards a £50,000 target to buy the site which is next to Bullands field. They say it was donated to the Trust in the will of local farmer and lifelong resident Major Hole, as part of the Parke Estate. The Trust says the monetary value of the land stands in the region of £300,000.

They said the "rich plot of land" has more than 700 species of flora and fauna, including bats, newts and dormice and is "a much-loved quiet corner of the town".



There's always a cop out : higher bidding developer wonder how much was actually paid ? ! ?