niall mellon charity?whats the big deal

irishvamp90

In the last year or two i heard the name alot in the media,now fairplay charity is great cant knock it but whats the big deal with it?..i was sick on the couch yesterday and there was a repeat of that xpose show on tv3 so i watched it.it had that model one glenda in south africa with the charity interviewing a property tycoon and pr guru.its like a fake charity for wannabe sociallites.they said 2000 people have been over to south africa its a pity these people wouldnt help at home here in ireland.i started just helping with old people just a simple thing like time no money,no fancy balls.no media spin.rant over it sickens my ****

Duiske

irishvamp90 wrote: »

In the last year or two i heard the name alot in the media,now fairplay charity is great cant knock it but whats the big deal with it?..i was sick on the couch yesterday and there was a repeat of that xpose show on tv3 so i watched it.it had that model one glenda in south africa with the charity interviewing a property tycoon and pr guru.its like a fake charity for wannabe sociallites.they said 2000 people have been over to south africa its a pity these people wouldnt help at home here in ireland.i started just helping with old people just a simple thing like time no money,no fancy balls.no media spin.rant over it sickens my ****

So it sickens your balls that your not getting paid and getting attention ? As far as I know, Niall Mellon is removing his name from that Trust, because he wants the focus on the charity, and not on himself.
And by the way, its ordinary, everyday brickies, carpenters, plumbers and labourers who raise the money themselves to go there every year, and build proper homes for people who are living in, basically, sheds. Pretty laudible if you ask me.

bythewoods

You clearly know nothing about this charity apart from what TV3 told you!

A good friend of mine went out to this last year and I can safely say it's a brilliant charity.
Anyone wanting to go has to raise about €5000 themselves and this money goes DIRECTLY to the communities. Houses are built for the neediest people - children and whole families who've been left living in total filth and squalor. Their lives are dramatically improved.

Of course there's going to one or "socialites" going, but for the most part it's regular people willing to donate their time to a good cause.

irishvamp90

ive no doubt its a good charity,regular people go there.but its like a charity for the upper class set if you get me.it gets some amount of media time with the socialite set.why can people raise all this money for trips away but cant invest simple time into something within their local community

bythewoods

Out of the thousands of people who go on an annual basis how many of them are actually "upper class" or socialites?
A tiny percentage.
Don't let your tenuous animosity towards these people cloud the excellent work done by this charity.

Does it not deserve a lot of media coverage? Niall Mellon's an amazing guy as far as I can see- a modern day philanthrophist.
Some of the world's neediest people are benefiting from this.

Do these builders and laborers need to build houses in their community? For a minute there I almost thought there was an abundance of empty houses in Ireland these days...

irishvamp90

yes mr.mellon seems a great guy,good work by the charity.all im saying its see as the "cool" and "hip".people in college were collecting money,fundrising for this this year but when it came to helping with the chaplin in the local area there was zero interest

Nehaxak

This is one charity where I would ask the question as to how much their CEO is paid. I've heard very very high figures but I cannot substaniate them, nor is the information made available through their public accounts pdf document on their website, which I find dubious.

irishvamp90

thanks nehaxak!!they seem to be too slick for a charity,too much on media spin.

mountainyman

It is the stupides thing I have ever heard of. A load of tradesmen from a country where tradesmen aren't that good go and build houses in a country with a surplus of labour and a shortage of money.

It's bullsh1t. If they trained people in Africa up that'd be one thing but the whole thing is moronic. Its main advantage is that the participants really feel good about themselves because they give their time rather than money. That is an advantage for the participants not the recipients.

It is illogical.

irishvamp90

good point mountainyman

tricky D

What a load of begrudgers.

He doesn't take a salary, if you could read the accounts you'd see that he's actually loaned euro 724K to the charity.

What have you done? (apart from watching TV3... what a quality channel.... lol)

Nehaxak

^^ Niall Mellon is not the CEO.

steve927

bythewoods wrote: »

Niall Mellon's an amazing guy as far as I can see-

This made me lol hard. None of you know what you're talking about. All is not what it appears;) "Prepares for the imminent burn"

bythewoods

steve927 wrote: »

This made me lol hard. None of you know what you're talking about. All is not what it appears;) "Prepares for the imminent burn"

You're right, the charitable man is actually a prick.
Sure, only complete cnuts spread their wealth around to help those in need. :rolleyes:

steve927

bythewoods wrote: »

You're right, the charitable man is actually a prick.
Sure, only complete cnuts spread their wealth around to help those in need. :rolleyes:

Dont believe the hype:D

irishvamp90

not saying niall mellon is bad just the vibe about the charity.its like a charity for the cool set

Dinter

irishvamp90 wrote: »

good point mountainyman

Yeah that's a good point, if by good point you mean nonsense.

Fair enough Africa might have a surplus of unskilled labour but if they were capable of getting enough resources together than obviously nobody over there would live in corrugated iron shanties.

I don't think that's quite what it's like though.

niceirishfella

Nehaxak wrote: »

This is one charity where I would ask the question as to how much their CEO is paid. I've heard very very high figures but I cannot substaniate them, nor is the information made available through their public accounts pdf document on their website, which I find dubious.

+1

And its not just this Charity.
Charity is big business nowadays with CEO's pulling big Salaries. I'd like to see Primetime doing a big Expose on them and not work for the gov instead.

bythewoods

steve927 wrote: »

Dont believe the hype:D

What exactly are you suggesting?

woodseb

fair play to them but i can't see the justification in building houses for people in what is the probably the richest country in Africa. the money spent would go a helluva lot further in other places in africa actually saving lives...

irishvamp90

why do people jump onto this charity so fast and they wouldnt do anything at home in ireland

mountainyman

Dinter wrote: »

Yeah that's a good point, if by good point you mean nonsense.

Fair enough Africa might have a surplus of unskilled labour but if they were capable of getting enough resources together than obviously nobody over there would live in corrugated iron shanties.

I don't think that's quite what it's like though.

They could train people up. The guys going over are mostly semi skilled they happen to live in a rich country (which these pr1cks have ruined). How useful was Sean Dunne- he was there to get photographed.

Do you really believ there is no one in South Africa who could run these projects with foreign money?

Even if Niall Mellon is a prick and he is I accept that his intentions are good. I just think the whole thing is stupid.

bythewoods

woodseb wrote: »

fair play to them but i can't see the justification in building houses for people in what is the probably the richest country in Africa. the money spent would go a helluva lot further in other places in africa actually saving lives...

South Africa's a wealthy country, but one in which wealth is unequally distributed.
There may be a fair amount of rich people, but there are actually an awful lot more people living in utter poverty, who are getting absolutely no help from their Government.

mountainyman

That isn't true the ANC has limited resources but they don't do nothing for people.

The charity works in SA because it is easy to get to and it has good infrastructure and good tourism resources.

I accept that intentions are good but the whole thing is moronic.

Dinter

woodseb wrote: »

fair play to them but i can't see the justification in building houses for people in what is the probably the richest country in Africa. the money spent would go a helluva lot further in other places in africa actually saving lives...

Tbh the people that receive one of those houses are as poor as anyone on the continent.

Now while you can justifiably howl with indignation at their government's ability to govern and improve people's lot at the end of the day you still have people who subsist entirely on what they can scavenge. For them being chosen to receive a house must be akin to you or I winning the lotto. An incredible gift from an incredible charity.

Whether or not the donors are entirely selfless in their charitable endeaveurs is entirely by the way. People seem to expect that charity is it's own reward and to be somehow gratified after being thanked is somehow crude. It's not and tbh there would be a whole lot less charity done if we all had to pretend it was.

Honey-ec

irishvamp90 wrote: »

not saying niall mellon is bad just the vibe about the charity.its like a charity for the cool set

Oh go and volunteer for Pavee Point then and stop subjecting us to your reverse snobbery.

starn

mountainyman wrote: »

It is the stupides thing I have ever heard of. A load of tradesmen from a country where tradesmen aren't that good go and build houses in a country with a surplus of labour and a shortage of money.

I always thought it would make more sence to just hire the tradesmen in SA. E 5000 is a awful lot of Rand. Does anyone knoe if the materials sourced locally in SA or bought here.

irishvamp90

im not a traveller why would i work for pavee point.the thread is about the falseness of the naill mellon people not the man himself

woodseb

Dinter wrote: »

Tbh the people that receive one of those houses are as poor as anyone on the continent.
.

really, are the townships in south africa comparable to conditions in darfur or zimbabwe for example?

i think the people going over there have the best of intentions but there are more worthy causes that need such a mobilisation of funds and people

starn

Nehaxak wrote: »

This is one charity where I would ask the question as to how much their CEO is paid. I've heard very very high figures but I cannot substaniate them, nor is the information made available through their public accounts pdf document on their website, which I find dubious.

I dont know about the Mellon Township. But I do have some friends who been working in PR and Marketing for a few different charities are making a awful lot of money.

Does anyone know what the minium percentage of a charitys turnover has to go to charitable causes, for it to qualify as a chariety

steve927

niceirishfella wrote: »

+1

And its not just this Charity.
Charity is big business nowadays with CEO's pulling big Salaries. I'd like to see Primetime doing a big Expose on them and not work for the gov instead.

^^^^This would be an interesting watch!