Mr.R and I have always been generous people, not just in what you may think are the traditional ways to be charitable.
Yes, we have given money to causes we believe in, but there's more to being generous than throwing cash at a problem.
Over the years we have also given our time, and sometimes just helped by listening to someone in need, just by being there when another person needs someone to show they care.
Anyway, this blog post is not about how generous, charitable, or bloody wonderful we are - although we are all those things. ;)
It's about TV.
Yep, I bet you didn't see that coming.
I like watching TV.
Yes, yes, I know the 'idiot box' rots the brain, but I like it.
I like watching TV, well, when I say I like watching the tele what I really mean is I like to have the TV turned on whilst I sit in front of it, despite the fact that I'm not actually watching whatever programme is being screened.
More often than not I am messing about online, so I guess the TV is just a background noise. Although most of the time I turn the sound off, so it's not noisy either.
Having said that, I am currently typing this ramble in complete silence, with no bright light glaring from the TV screen - because I have turned it off.
Grrr! I'm taking way too long to get to the point.
What I want to say is that, what I want to say is going to make me sound like a seriously tight, mean, uncaring, and probably nasty person.
I am not. I am nice.
Nice is a strange word these days. It's always seems to be used as a negative word.
Whatever. I like the word nice. I think it should be used more, and understood as a positive word.
But, I digress. My feelings about the word nice, it's definition etc. are for another post.
So, back to this blogpost. TV. Or more specifically, adverts on TV.
It's December, so predictably, and understandably the majority of the adverts that are being aired are related to Christmas. Apart from Christmas ads there are lots of charity adverts.
They are beginning to....... I don't know what word(s) to use. I can only think of annoy, irritate, bug me, frustrate me..... and various other similar words, but none of them accurately describe my feelings when I see yet another charity advert on TV asking, no, pleading, for money.
As I said, I am nice, and I am a generous person.
So, you may think TV adverts asking for money would be right up my alley.
Nope!
And I'll tell you why.
I think the adverts are badly shot, or filmed, the voice-overs are seriously depressing, and then the 'punchline' is always roughly the same, it's predictable.
It goes something like this, 'If you send us just £??? in return you will receive blah blah blah.......'
It goes something like this, 'If you send us just £??? in return you will receive blah blah blah.......'
Grrr! It makes my blood boil, well not boil but get a touch warmer than is considered normal temperature.
The whole premise of these charity adverts is to persuade people to give their hard earned cash to the cause. The ever-so-important cause that is desperate for your money.
So, I want to know, if they are so desperate to raise funds for their good causes, why do they then blow a large chunk of the donations they receive on sending you tat, that you more than likely don't need or even want?
It's ridiculous.
Today just before lunch I was sitting watching the idiot box and there were 3 charity adverts on in just one lot of ad breaks.
The first advert was a WWF ad for polar bears. They were asking for 'as little' as £3 per month to help save the polar bears.
In return for your money they will send you -
A beautiful, cuddly toy polar bear
Polar Bear adoption certificate
3x 'Wild World' and 'My Polar Bears' updates
Stickers, polar bear facts, bookmarks and lots more...
This is what I'm talking about, the needless stuff that these charities spend your donations on.
If I choose to donate my money to help polar bears then I want my money to help the polar bears. I do not want my money to be wasted on crap; cuddly toys, stickers, certificates etc.
It wasn't just the WWF Polar Bear ad that I noticed today, I also watched a charity ad for WaterAid.
They were asking for £2 a month to help stop children dying from drinking dirty water.
No doubt it's a worthy cause.
I can't believe that in 2013 there is any human in the World who does not have access to clean, safe drinking water. It is unbelievable.
WaterAid is an international organisation. But why do their adverts always feature African children?
Yes, I know the water shortages in Africa are serious. But there are actually children in the UK who do not have clean safe drinking water.
Maybe an advert aired on British TV should not only show poor little African children, but also a British child who is also in desperate need of fresh water.
The third charity advert that was aired in just one lot of ad breaks was for the Salvation Army.
By the time the Sally Army ad was screened I'd had enough of being made to feel guilty for having so much, while others have to little.
That wasn't exactly what the Salvation Army advert said, but that was the tone, and how it made me feel.
Three adverts in one lot of ad breaks!
I know they have a job to do, and I know this will sound bad, but watching, listening to these ads is seriously depressing.
No wonder suicide rates rise at Christmas.
Hmm, being contrary by nature, I am now feeling that everything I've written so far is not what I truly think at all.
I actually think the opposite.
It's not easy being me.
No doubt Mr.R would add that it's not easy living with me either.
Charity!
Isn't it clever how just writing something slightly negative about charity makes me feel and sound like a bad person.
It's not the concept of charity that I have a problem with. It's pretty much everything else.
The money they spend on nonsense, the predictable way they try and tug at our heart, the long-winded
way they ask for our cash.
I think I'd prefer it if they were more like the ad that says, 'it does what it says on the tin'.
They should be more open and honest. Don't bother making adverts with beautiful, big brown-eyed children, or cute fluffy polar bears, just say what's what.
Say, we need to raise £???.
We will spend no more than 25% on admin etc. and the remaining 75% will be spent helping the cause.
We will account for every single penny raised.
This would definitely be a better way to raise funds.
Britain is a generous country. We do help when needed, and often when not needed, as in the case of giving tons of money to India, despite them saying they didn't want it.
But once again that's a topic for another blog post.
Britain actually seems to be far more interested in helping anyone and everyone as long as they are not British, and in need.
It's a funny World isn't it.
We, by which I mean the UK, give millions of pounds every year to Africa, and various other places in the World, but does this money actually help those in genuine need?
I highly doubt it.
Hopefully some of the cash does trickle down to the needy, but I think we all know what happens to most of the money. It is stolen by corrupt officials to further fund their lavish lifestyles.
We know this. Our government knows this.
So maybe, instead of asking the general public to dig deep in to their pockets once again, the overpaid heads of these charities should tackle the real problem.
Maybe they should contact our Prime Minister and politicians and demand that the money that's donated to good causes is properly accounted for, that it is spent on helping the vulnerable people who truly need it, and that it's not spent on private jets or other luxuries for corrupt officials and/or dictators.
I used to think that, although it would be better if all of the charity money (minus the running costs of the charity) that was raised went to help the people it was donated to, even just a very small proportion reaching them was better than nothing. But now I'm not so sure.
If we continue to give cash to these charities, which then gets stolen by people who should know better, then what are we doing, who are we actually helping?
If we all stopped donating to charity until the charities agreed to do everything they could to make sure the cash wasn't being pinched, then would anything change?
Would things be better or worse?
I don't know. But I do know that what's currently happening is wrong, and it should not be allowed to continue.
Charity seems to be very different these days, to how it used to be.
It doesn't feel different to any big business.
It feels to me as though they've lost sight of their purpose.
I remember when I was a child there would be volunteers wandering up and down the high street rattling their charity tins as people walked by.
They were never aggressive, they simply accepted your loose change if you wanted to donate, or they left you alone to go about your day.
Nowadays charities seem to be far more aggressive.
No longer are there volunteers gently shaking their money boxes as you walk by, now they are paid to ask you for your money, and often they do so in a very aggressive manner.
Then there are the other people who work for these charities, they do no do so out of the goodness of their hearts, because they passionately care about the charity and its cause.
They do it for the money, and I don't mean the donations. I mean their wages, which are all too often obscenely high, especially considering what they actually do to earn them.
Obviously I realise most people aren't independently wealthy, they can't work for free. But many years ago the people at the helm of these charities would take a modest wage. Now they make a small fortune. It's not unusual for them to earn 6 figure sums. And where is this money coming from? Your donations.
Does that seem right to you?
Shouldn't the bulk of the donations be spent on the 'good cause' they were originally gifted to?
It's not just the high wages of the charity workers that I have trouble understanding, it's also the simple fact that the majority of the well-known charities now seem to be far more interested in marketing and publicity than anything else.
One more thing that I seriously do not agree with when it comes to the way a lot of charities run their businesses, is the hard-sell once you've been generous enough to donate.
I know from personal experience that despite what a lot of people may think, some of the well-known charities that operate in the UK are not necessarily the 'good guys'.
I am aware of several charities that once they have received a donation from you, will then sell your personal details to other charities.
These other charities will then bombard you will mail, and phone calls.
I also know of several charities who have used heavy handed tactics to prey on vulnerable pensioners, persuading them to 'gift' the charity their property in their will.
The charity offers a 'free' will writing service in the comfort of your own home. This is done is with one aim, to encourage you to leave everything you own to the charity.
Without naming the charities involved or going in to detail, my family has been targeted by unscrupulous people, and it was so serious that the police were involved.
So, as I said at the beginning of this rant, I am generous. I have, and do give to charity. These days I am just careful how I donate, and to whom.
But I am not a fan of the numerous TV adverts begging for cash (which must cost a fortune to make?) nor the cold-callers, and definitely not the heads of charities who use their positions as just another great thing to add to their CV to help them get a 'better' highly paid job when they leave the charity, and all the while they're receiving obscenely large pay cheques.
Finally, as much I realise that we in the UK are blessed in many ways, compared to many other countries in the World, I do wish that the saying 'Charity Begins at Home' was more closely followed.
Surely we should sort out our own problems first, before we even begin to help other countries?
I only added the photos to break up the text, not because they are relevant - I don't have any photos that would be appropriate for this blog post. :)
Do you give to charity?
Time? Money? Other?
What do you think of how a lot of charities are run?
I'd be interested to hear what you think.
Happy Christmas!
In return for your money they will send you -
A beautiful, cuddly toy polar bear
Polar Bear adoption certificate
3x 'Wild World' and 'My Polar Bears' updates
Stickers, polar bear facts, bookmarks and lots more...
This is what I'm talking about, the needless stuff that these charities spend your donations on.
If I choose to donate my money to help polar bears then I want my money to help the polar bears. I do not want my money to be wasted on crap; cuddly toys, stickers, certificates etc.
It wasn't just the WWF Polar Bear ad that I noticed today, I also watched a charity ad for WaterAid.
They were asking for £2 a month to help stop children dying from drinking dirty water.
No doubt it's a worthy cause.
I can't believe that in 2013 there is any human in the World who does not have access to clean, safe drinking water. It is unbelievable.
WaterAid is an international organisation. But why do their adverts always feature African children?
Yes, I know the water shortages in Africa are serious. But there are actually children in the UK who do not have clean safe drinking water.
Maybe an advert aired on British TV should not only show poor little African children, but also a British child who is also in desperate need of fresh water.
The third charity advert that was aired in just one lot of ad breaks was for the Salvation Army.
By the time the Sally Army ad was screened I'd had enough of being made to feel guilty for having so much, while others have to little.
That wasn't exactly what the Salvation Army advert said, but that was the tone, and how it made me feel.
Three adverts in one lot of ad breaks!
I know they have a job to do, and I know this will sound bad, but watching, listening to these ads is seriously depressing.
No wonder suicide rates rise at Christmas.
Hmm, being contrary by nature, I am now feeling that everything I've written so far is not what I truly think at all.
I actually think the opposite.
It's not easy being me.
No doubt Mr.R would add that it's not easy living with me either.
Charity!
Isn't it clever how just writing something slightly negative about charity makes me feel and sound like a bad person.
It's not the concept of charity that I have a problem with. It's pretty much everything else.
The money they spend on nonsense, the predictable way they try and tug at our heart, the long-winded
way they ask for our cash.
I think I'd prefer it if they were more like the ad that says, 'it does what it says on the tin'.
They should be more open and honest. Don't bother making adverts with beautiful, big brown-eyed children, or cute fluffy polar bears, just say what's what.
Say, we need to raise £???.
We will spend no more than 25% on admin etc. and the remaining 75% will be spent helping the cause.
We will account for every single penny raised.
This would definitely be a better way to raise funds.
Britain is a generous country. We do help when needed, and often when not needed, as in the case of giving tons of money to India, despite them saying they didn't want it.
But once again that's a topic for another blog post.
Britain actually seems to be far more interested in helping anyone and everyone as long as they are not British, and in need.
It's a funny World isn't it.
We, by which I mean the UK, give millions of pounds every year to Africa, and various other places in the World, but does this money actually help those in genuine need?
I highly doubt it.
Hopefully some of the cash does trickle down to the needy, but I think we all know what happens to most of the money. It is stolen by corrupt officials to further fund their lavish lifestyles.
We know this. Our government knows this.
So maybe, instead of asking the general public to dig deep in to their pockets once again, the overpaid heads of these charities should tackle the real problem.
Maybe they should contact our Prime Minister and politicians and demand that the money that's donated to good causes is properly accounted for, that it is spent on helping the vulnerable people who truly need it, and that it's not spent on private jets or other luxuries for corrupt officials and/or dictators.
I used to think that, although it would be better if all of the charity money (minus the running costs of the charity) that was raised went to help the people it was donated to, even just a very small proportion reaching them was better than nothing. But now I'm not so sure.
If we continue to give cash to these charities, which then gets stolen by people who should know better, then what are we doing, who are we actually helping?
If we all stopped donating to charity until the charities agreed to do everything they could to make sure the cash wasn't being pinched, then would anything change?
Would things be better or worse?
I don't know. But I do know that what's currently happening is wrong, and it should not be allowed to continue.
Charity seems to be very different these days, to how it used to be.
It doesn't feel different to any big business.
It feels to me as though they've lost sight of their purpose.
I remember when I was a child there would be volunteers wandering up and down the high street rattling their charity tins as people walked by.
They were never aggressive, they simply accepted your loose change if you wanted to donate, or they left you alone to go about your day.
Nowadays charities seem to be far more aggressive.
No longer are there volunteers gently shaking their money boxes as you walk by, now they are paid to ask you for your money, and often they do so in a very aggressive manner.
Then there are the other people who work for these charities, they do no do so out of the goodness of their hearts, because they passionately care about the charity and its cause.
They do it for the money, and I don't mean the donations. I mean their wages, which are all too often obscenely high, especially considering what they actually do to earn them.
Obviously I realise most people aren't independently wealthy, they can't work for free. But many years ago the people at the helm of these charities would take a modest wage. Now they make a small fortune. It's not unusual for them to earn 6 figure sums. And where is this money coming from? Your donations.
Does that seem right to you?
Shouldn't the bulk of the donations be spent on the 'good cause' they were originally gifted to?
It's not just the high wages of the charity workers that I have trouble understanding, it's also the simple fact that the majority of the well-known charities now seem to be far more interested in marketing and publicity than anything else.
One more thing that I seriously do not agree with when it comes to the way a lot of charities run their businesses, is the hard-sell once you've been generous enough to donate.
I know from personal experience that despite what a lot of people may think, some of the well-known charities that operate in the UK are not necessarily the 'good guys'.
I am aware of several charities that once they have received a donation from you, will then sell your personal details to other charities.
These other charities will then bombard you will mail, and phone calls.
I also know of several charities who have used heavy handed tactics to prey on vulnerable pensioners, persuading them to 'gift' the charity their property in their will.
The charity offers a 'free' will writing service in the comfort of your own home. This is done is with one aim, to encourage you to leave everything you own to the charity.
Without naming the charities involved or going in to detail, my family has been targeted by unscrupulous people, and it was so serious that the police were involved.
So, as I said at the beginning of this rant, I am generous. I have, and do give to charity. These days I am just careful how I donate, and to whom.
But I am not a fan of the numerous TV adverts begging for cash (which must cost a fortune to make?) nor the cold-callers, and definitely not the heads of charities who use their positions as just another great thing to add to their CV to help them get a 'better' highly paid job when they leave the charity, and all the while they're receiving obscenely large pay cheques.
Finally, as much I realise that we in the UK are blessed in many ways, compared to many other countries in the World, I do wish that the saying 'Charity Begins at Home' was more closely followed.
Surely we should sort out our own problems first, before we even begin to help other countries?
I only added the photos to break up the text, not because they are relevant - I don't have any photos that would be appropriate for this blog post. :)
Do you give to charity?
Time? Money? Other?
What do you think of how a lot of charities are run?
I'd be interested to hear what you think.
Happy Christmas!
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