john giles - walk of disappointment

celtictiger32

we did the johnny giles 'walk of dreams' yesterday and it turned out to be a big let down. we brought a good few young kids in who had been looking forward to the day for the last few weeks, they all got sponsor cards and worked hard getting them filled out etc... when we got to the start line we waited a little bit before the event started didnt mind that too much as the crowds were big so you could expect that. the walk turned out to be too long for young kids(and from what i seen was the main participants), and when we got to the aviva stadium there was absolutely nothing there for kids all we got was a few videos of john giles playing in his heyday, then a couple of ex ireland internationals from donkeys years ago which none of the kids knew anything about. they announced that 'now we'll have a few words from the man himself' which turned out to be a pre-recorded message from giles. the cost for a burger,chips and drink for the kids was over 11 euro. not even a packet of crisps or similar for them on arrival. all in all the day was a complete disaster and didnt go down well with any of the clubs, some of whom i believe are withholding their 50% of the sponsor money as they dont see why the foundation should see a penny of it after the disgraceful set up they put on.

LuckyLloyd

Isn't the end objective raising money for a worthy cause? Withholding sponsorship money raised for that cause because the entertainment didn't meet your standards is very, um, Irish to say the least.

Hard Worker

celtictiger32 wrote: »

we did the johnny giles 'walk of dreams' yesterday and it turned out to be a big let down. we brought a good few young kids in who had been looking forward to the day for the last few weeks, they all got sponsor cards and worked hard getting them filled out etc... when we got to the start line we waited a little bit before the event started didnt mind that too much as the crowds were big so you could expect that. the walk turned out to be too long for young kids(and from what i seen was the main participants), and when we got to the aviva stadium there was absolutely nothing there for kids all we got was a few videos of john giles playing in his heyday, then a couple of ex ireland internationals from donkeys years ago which none of the kids knew anything about. they announced that 'now we'll have a few words from the man himself' which turned out to be a pre-recorded message from giles. the cost for a burger,chips and drink for the kids was over 11 euro. not even a packet of crisps or similar for them on arrival. all in all the day was a complete disaster and didnt go down well with any of the clubs, some of whom i believe are withholding their 50% of the sponsor money as they dont see why the foundation should see a penny of it after the disgraceful set up they put on.

I think you have your events mixed up. The John Giles Foundation organised a fundraising walk, not a concert.
The walk was anything from 3K to 4K, depending on which entry point you went into the stadium. That's nowhere near too long for any child playing football.

MagicMarker

What is this I don't even.

Mister men

celtictiger32 wrote: »

we did the johnny giles 'walk of dreams' yesterday and it turned out to be a big let down. we brought a good few young kids in who had been looking forward to the day for the last few weeks, they all got sponsor cards and worked hard getting them filled out etc... when we got to the start line we waited a little bit before the event started didnt mind that too much as the crowds were big so you could expect that. the walk turned out to be too long for young kids(and from what i seen was the main participants), and when we got to the aviva stadium there was absolutely nothing there for kids all we got was a few videos of john giles playing in his heyday, then a couple of ex ireland internationals from donkeys years ago which none of the kids knew anything about. they announced that 'now we'll have a few words from the man himself' which turned out to be a pre-recorded message from giles. the cost for a burger,chips and drink for the kids was over 11 euro. not even a packet of crisps or similar for them on arrival. all in all the day was a complete disaster and didnt go down well with any of the clubs, some of whom i believe are withholding their 50% of the sponsor money as they dont see why the foundation should see a penny of it after the disgraceful set up they put on.

Maybe if you stopped buying your kids burgers,chips etc... the walk won't be a problem for them.

abouttobebanned

Why does everyone on boards always feel like they need to reply with an attitude.

The johnny giles foundation is getting a lot of positive rep for this walk, in my opinion the cost of that food was crazy for such a day...and how dare someone criticise a father for giving his child burger and chips. You know nothing about how re raises his children and I'm guessing you don't have children of your own. The OP has every right to question how an event like this is run. The mistake he made was posting it here.

Pauleta

I cant believe Giles didnt do the walk himself

RasTa

celtictiger32 wrote: »

all in all the day was a complete disaster and didnt go down well with any of the clubs, some of whom i believe are withholding their 50% of the sponsor money as they dont see why the foundation should see a penny of it after the disgraceful set up they put on.

Are you serious? Where is it going to go

dreamers75

The point was to raise money for charity and YOUR CLUB, 50% went to charity and the other 50 to the club taking part.

Wouldnt be surprised if Schoolboy clubs kept the money and used the above as an excuse.

It was a charity walk not a trip to the cinema.

jaykay74

celtictiger32 wrote: »

not even a packet of crisps or similar for them on arrival. all in all the day was a complete disaster and didnt go down well with any of the clubs, some of whom i believe are withholding their 50% of the sponsor money as they dont see why the foundation should see a penny of it after the disgraceful set up they put on.

Thats really poor form. Those who contributed their money did so in good faith. Its not up to the clubs to then say we didn't enjoy your event so we'll keep all the money collected. If the clubs don't want to give money to the foundation fair enough but they should return the money to those they collected it from, not just pocket it.

jaykay74

RasTa wrote: »

Are you serious? Where is it going to go

I'm lead to believe subsidised burgers and chips :pac:

i kid i kid

master-t

He did say some of the clubs, he believes, are withholding the money, not necessarily his club or he himself.

Personally, 11 Euro is a piss take for food for the kids. It's not even as if any of that money is going to the charity.

And Mister men said something bout feeding the kids a burger and chips on a day out - don't be such a smart arsed t*t. You clearly don't have kids.

Johnny Giles should have at least made an appearance at the afters to thank people for supporting it. That would be common courtesy.

You are not the only one complaining about the set up by the way.

I understand it was for charity, but in tough times like today, when people, who are already stuggling, give what they can to a deserving charity, you would like to feel that it was appreciated and not just expected.

reprazant

Am I right in thinking that the OP thinks that it is perfectly fine for the clubs to withhold moneys collected from people who assumed that it was going to charity because there wasn't some sort of expensive carnival there at the end?

It was a walk for charity. If they had spent lots of money on things at the end, people would then have been moaning that they money collected was being wasted on this instead of the charity it was meant for.

You are right about the burgers and chips, but they are always rip off at these things, and it would surprise me that it was the same companies that sell them at the matches were selling them here at matchday prices.

But to withhold money collected for charity because of that is nothing less than shameful.

Paulw

Pauleta wrote: »

I cant believe Giles didnt do the walk himself

He can barely walk as it is. I doubt it would be medically possible for him to walk that distance at all.

He suffers from chronic arthritis, I believe.

master-t

reprazant wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that the OP thinks that it is perfectly fine for the clubs to withhold moneys collected from people who assumed that it was going to charity because there wasn't some sort of expensive carnival there at the end?

It was a walk for charity. If they had spent lots of money on things at the end, people would then have been moaning that they money collected was being wasted on this instead of the charity it was meant for.

You are right about the burgers and chips, but they are always rip off at these things, and it would surprise me that it was the same companies that sell them at the matches were selling them here at matchday prices.

But to withhold money collected for charity because of that is nothing less than shameful.

I don't believe the OP ever stated he thinks that would be OK.

If that was the case, then obviously my opinion is different.

KERSPLAT!

reprazant wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that the OP thinks that it is perfectly fine for the clubs to withhold moneys collected from people who assumed that it was going to charity because there wasn't some sort of expensive carnival there at the end?.

A bag of crisps he said... hardly an expensive carnival,

I still dont agree with withholding money though (you or other clubs), its for charity and I doubt the sponsors who gave you/other clubs money would be too impressed

duffman13

Give the OP a break, the kids in my club were aged between 7 and 14 and the walk down too stadium was not too bad however there was quiet a big crowd and it was fairly warm. A lot of the kids were very warm and the price of food and drink was prohibitive.

I think a lot the kids were disappointed because there were no current Irish players which is wat most people had believed would happen. I mean playing prerecorded messages too your next set of fans is ridiculous. How are ya meant too get them to be excited by or identify with Our national team, especially since we play such poor football to watch.

I would also like too say that although clubs were disappointed with the set up I did not hear of anyone saying they were witholding funds.

RasTa

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Isn't the end objective raising money for a worthy cause? Withholding sponsorship money raised for that cause because the entertainment didn't meet your standards is very, um, Irish to say the least.

I think this needs to be quoted again.

Mr. Presentable

duffman13 wrote: »

Give the OP a break, the kids in my club were aged between 7 and 14 and the walk down too stadium was not too bad however there was quiet a big crowd and it was fairly warm. A lot of the kids were very warm and the price of food and drink was prohibitive.

I think a lot the kids were disappointed because there were no current Irish players which is wat most people had believed would happen. I mean playing prerecorded messages too your next set of fans is ridiculous. How are ya meant too get them to be excited by or identify with Our national team, especially since we play such poor football to watch.

I would also like too say that although clubs were disappointed with the set up I did not hear of anyone saying they were witholding funds.

On the plus side it provided you with an opportunity to have a dig at my national team.

stovelid

Ask not what charity can do its intended targets, but whether or not the day has sufficient bells and whistles on it for Numero Uno.

There is also a name for 'withholding' money that was ostensibly given for a specific charitable purpose.

Dempsey

If the kids thought it was too long, you should have send them doing 4 laps of the pitch and be setting up some cones and hurdles. Bloody PS3 generation :pac:

This is the 1st that this event has been organised so there is bound to be hiccups. Maybe you and other clubs should give the John Giles foundation feedback in how to make the event run better in future? For a start Giles could have appeared at the finish line/Aviva, certainly something that isnt asking too much.

As for catering, you shouldnt expect the foundation to subsidise it. It should have been expected that the catering companies within the stadium would be calling the shots no matter what the event.

Bar Giles not being there, sounds like alot of people were expecting way too much. Clubmen withholding money that is not theirs is shameful imo.

EDIT

Clubs all over the country organised their own walks, at least you got a gawk around the aviva!

Shane Long turned up to the one organised in Thurles

Paulw

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the clubs automatically get 50% of what they raise anyway??

The other 50% goes to a pool of funds used to promote and grow football?

So, the clubs withholding 50% is what they are supposed to do anyway. Some protest that is. :rolleyes:

http://johngilesfoundation.com/walk-of-dreams.html

pickarooney

It sounds like a load of bollocks. Fleecing kids to walk around Dublin 4 and watch a video of Johnny Giles? Why not just take the money and sod of with it while you're at it. All this "it's for charity" crack is beside the point.

death1234567

I can see the headlines now, John Giles in forced death march shocker!

Crash Bang Wall

By the sounds of things the event wasnt organised properly at all, especially a first running of the event.

Chances are a lot of the kids havent had anything to eat for 2-3 hours by the time the walk finished...any organiser worth his salt would have realised this and allowed for something, even a small goody bag. What harm would it have been to have some of the Irish players around the Aviva for an hour or 2, or even give a few minute speech thanking everybody etc.

If an event like this is getting slated, people wont go next year. These things have to be organised properly and this obviously wasnt...€11 for a burger and chips for kids is ridiculous, what didnt the organisers have say tea and sandwiches or finger food for say 3 or 4 quid

homerjay2005

f*ckin hell, people will complain about anything these days. its a charity walk ffs, what did people expect?

only thing i would have issue with is that giles was not there himself.

master-t

homerjay2005 wrote: »

f*ckin hell, people will complain about anything these days. its a charity walk ffs, what did people expect?

only thing i would have issue with is that giles was not there himself.

No, I am sorry but "it's for charity" doesn't excuse sh*te behaviour and a sh*te set by the sounds of things.

Everyone is hard up at the moment with money, yet they will still do what they can to raise funds like this OP did and brought his kids for a day out.

Then they arrive to find the food is over priced to ****e, there is nothing for the kids - which is what the event was really aimed at - and the man himself didn't even show up.

I am sorry, but people complain when they have a reason to and This OP has a reason to.

If no one complained, people would complain about the lack of complaining.

What a load of bollocks.

Paparazzo

This sounds like a job for Joe Duffy.

reprazant

master-t wrote: »

Then they arrive to find the food is over priced to ****e, there is nothing for the kids - which is what the event was really aimed at - and the man himself didn't even show up.

Whatever about the food, you do realise these were all over the country?

Do you expect him to turn up to every single one?

Also, according to reports, Robbie Keane, Trap and other members of the national team were there.

homerjay2005

master-t wrote: »

No, I am sorry but "it's for charity" doesn't excuse sh*te behaviour and a sh*te set by the sounds of things.

Everyone is hard up at the moment with money, yet they will still do what they can to raise funds like this OP did and brought his kids for a day out.

Then they arrive to find the food is over priced to ****e, there is nothing for the kids - which is what the event was really aimed at - and the man himself didn't even show up.

I am sorry, but people complain when they have a reason to and This OP has a reason to.

If no one complained, people would complain about the lack of complaining.

What a load of bollocks.

cos burgers are expensive, its a reason to write off an entire event?

parker kent

In my day we did such events crawling on our knees and were happy we weren't beaten at the end for being too slow :pac:

But in all seriousness, it was a charity walk not a funfair. I don't see why they had to provide crisps etc for it to be a good day. Maybe Giles could have shown up at the start or end as it was in Dublin, but then again maybe it wasn't possible for numerous reasons. There are so many of these walks it is impossible to guarantee current players will be there. They are after all supposed to be training and/or going back to their clubs. Sure it would be nice to meet them. But it is not as if they promised players at every walk.

master-t

homerjay2005 wrote: »

cos burgers are expensive, its a reason to write off an entire event?

Is that what I said? No.

If you read the original post first, before jumping in trying to be funny, you would see that the OP said not only was the food overpriced, but there was nothing for the kids to do after it, there was no refreshments after it for the kids, a pre recorded message from Giles and that was it.

I think his complaint is they worked hard and put a lot of effort to raise as much money as they could, but felt that the effort on the other side was not matched.

Put it this way, If I was running a charity night (Which I have), I would try to ensure that our attendees were well looked after. This would include thinking ahead of what they needed to ensure that If we host another event, they will gladly donate again. If you leave your donators with a bad taste in their mouth, they will not be so generous next time around.

Chardee MacDennis

take it to liveline tbh, you wont find much sympathy in here...

CiaranC

Paulw wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the clubs automatically get 50% of what they raise anyway??

The other 50% goes to a pool of funds used to promote and grow football?

So, the clubs withholding 50% is what they are supposed to do anyway. Some protest that is. :rolleyes:

http://johngilesfoundation.com/walk-of-dreams.html

Pretty sure the OP is saying they are keeping the 50% that is supposed to go to charity as well as their own 50%. Which is just stealing.

Wouldnt suprise me with schoolboy football clubs tbh

spockety

Why do charity dinners involve black ties and copious amounts of delicious food, when really the money could have gone to the charity?

Why do charities like Oxfam send you expensive packs with details of where your money is going or specific letters from 'adoptees' etc? The money could have been saved and spent on charity.

Get real, charities are businesses, and they need to be run like businesses if they are to be successful. Their customers are the donors, and like it or not the donors need something back, however small. Is that awful? It's all relative, but welcome to human nature.

It needn't have cost any money. Are you telling me that it would be difficult to get Coca Cola or Ballygowan or something to sponsor a couple of thousand bottles of minerals? Or to get Tayto to sponor a couple of thousand bags of crisps? Or Mars to spring for some chocolate? It's a no brainer, captive audience, association with a worthy cause etc., and would have been very welcome by the customers.

And in my opinion playing back a taped video message is probably worse than having nobody there at all. It just highlighted the mediocrity.

(Note; I wasn't there myself, so basing this off the OPs feedback).

Hard Worker

Crash Bang Wall wrote: »

By the sounds of things the event wasnt organised properly at all, especially a first running of the event.

Chances are a lot of the kids havent had anything to eat for 2-3 hours by the time the walk finished...any organiser worth his salt would have realised this and allowed for something, even a small goody bag. What harm would it have been to have some of the Irish players around the Aviva for an hour or 2, or even give a few minute speech thanking everybody etc.

If an event like this is getting slated, people wont go next year. These things have to be organised properly and this obviously wasnt...€11 for a burger and chips for kids is ridiculous, what didnt the organisers have say tea and sandwiches or finger food for say 3 or 4 quid

All clubs were informed of the timeline involved. Clubs should have prepared by bringing their own bar or crisps while they were taking part.
John Giles was at the start in Fitzwilliam Street. He spoke over the P.A. system and thanked everyone. Robbie Keane was also there at the start as was Trap.
The John Giles Foundation would have no control over what prices are charged for food in the AVIVA. The cost of preparing 10,000 goodie bags would have been prohibitive and a serious waste of money. The people supplying the food in the stadium are licenced to do so and no one else can just set up to do tea and sandwiches for 3 or 4 quid.
There were 14 other JGF walks around the country. I wonder what is the feedback from any of those.

celtictiger32

just to clear up a few things first of all i did not say i or my club was withholding money i said a lot of clubs were planning to do so check out the foundation page on fb. the point regarding it not being a funfair and just a charity walk i dont accept that when the event ads and organisers, promos etc. were advertising a fun day out for the kids etc. there was nothing fun there for the kids. the ireland team could have at least shown their faces in the stadium they were in the country im sure they wouldnt have been put out too much. as for the walk itself the op said they shouldnt have a problem doing it because they play football the majority of the kids we had with us were under 7's the walk was more than 4km and there was supposed to be toilet facilities at the start line and another point along the route which there was none. and the op who was so opposed to getting kids a burger and chips you obviously dont have kids or if you do god help them, but i honestly dont have any problem whatsoever giving that to kids on a day out and im sure many would agree. look we werent expecting a concert or a four course meal just some sort of a gesture to appreciate the kids that turned up. and if you want to talk about dishonesty there was one big big dublin schoolboy club (who will remain nameless) that gave all their kids the sponsor cards but would not allow them to do the walk now that was wrong imo.

celtictiger32

Hard Worker wrote: »

All clubs were informed of the timeline involved. Clubs should have prepared by bringing their own bar or crisps while they were taking part.
John Giles was at the start in Fitzwilliam Street. He spoke over the P.A. system and thanked everyone. Robbie Keane was also there at the start as was Trap.
The John Giles Foundation would have no control over what prices are charged for food in the AVIVA. The cost of preparing 10,000 goodie bags would have been prohibitive and a serious waste of money. The people supplying the food in the stadium are licenced to do so and no one else can just set up to do tea and sandwiches for 3 or 4 quid.

There were 14 other JGF walks around the country. I wonder what is the feedback from any of those.

looking at the foundation fb page amongst other places a lot of the other walks were diappointing too

celtictiger32

Paparazzo wrote: »

This sounds like a job for Joe Duffy.

just been told its on joe duffy at the moment

Joekers

Was just on joe duffffffffffffyyyyyyyyy on 1850 715 815 the liveline is open now:D

Dempsey

I assume its only the dubs that went to the aviva that are complaining about the lack of a hospitality package for doing a charity walk?

KERSPLAT!

Dempsey wrote: »

I assume its only the dubs that went to the aviva that are complaining about the lack of a hospitality package for doing a charity walk?

What has being a Dub got to do with anything here??

ColeTrain

celtictiger32 wrote: »

just been told its on joe duffy at the moment

Joekers wrote: »

Was just on joe duffffffffffffyyyyyyyyy on 1850 715 815 the liveline is open now:D

That guy must have his researchers scanning every forum on Boards.

homerjay2005

celtictiger32 wrote: »

just been told its on joe duffy at the moment

little deco had to go for a p*ss in the dodder joe....and the burgers Joe.....they were 4euro....its terrible, terrible, terrible.

celtictiger32

i have to say although i have a major gripe about the event on sunday at least john giles had the decency to go on air and face the music he didnt go hiding until it blew over. i will give him the credit for that. he sounded a bit doubtful over the event going ahead next year...

dreamers75

Dempsey wrote: »

I assume its only the dubs that went to the aviva that are complaining about the lack of a hospitality package for doing a charity walk?

Any dub could name every dublin club that may withold monies, and it wouldnt be hard

My kids team did it and got enough for a set of jerseys out of it, think it was a great idea for small clubs

celtictiger32

dreamers75 wrote: »

Any dub could name every dublin club that may withold monies, and it wouldnt be hard

explain please??

stumpypeeps

This reminds me, I bought one of those daffodils for cancer there recently. Bloody hell it looked terrible, was all plasticky and horrible. What a rip off. I'll be getting my daffodils elsewhere from now on.

RasTa

Shocking how so many parents think it's fine to serve their kids burgers, chips, coke and crisps after some light exercise.

celtictiger32

stumpypeeps wrote: »

This reminds me, I bought one of those daffodils for cancer there recently. Bloody hell it looked terrible, was all plasticky and horrible. What a rip off. I'll be getting my daffodils elsewhere from now on.

when you bought the daffodil did they promise you a fun day out for the kids, members of the irish team to show up amongst a host of other things

ColeTrain

stumpypeeps wrote: »

This reminds me, I bought one of those daffodils for cancer there recently. Bloody hell it looked terrible, was all plasticky and horrible. What a rip off. I'll be getting my daffodils elsewhere from now on.

Not a fair comparison.
It wouldn't have hurt them to lay out a little bag with a couple of things in it for the kids. Not really fair either that the catering companies were free to charge their extortionate prices to parents who had hungry children on their hands. Easy to snipe on here but it sounds like they could have made a better effort to those who actually bothered to get of their arses and do the walk.