People's decency

Rasheed

In the current climate, most people are suffering financially, one way or another.

But what struck me recently is people's generosity for good causes or charity. I don't mean chuggers, but more for fund raising for someone who's had an accident or a local cause/ charity.

Then I heard of this competition where a man put up his bull for a prize to help find raise for his school. Taking a pro active approach to a school threatened.

http://www.98fm.com/2013/category-news-sport/what-a-lot-of-bull/

People are generally very decent and I think when times get tough, everyone seems to dig a little deeper and it's very heartening.

What do you think?

Pumpkinseeds

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

Praetorian Saighdiuir

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Legends, Mods and donators alike!

Tombo2001

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

I'd have a different view on this one.

There was a stage there were nearly every time I went into a Tesco there was someone collecting for something.

They were all bona fide charities, or local sports clubs maybe, and fair play to Tesco for allowing them to do it.....but for me the whole point of going to Tesco, say rather than the local shop around the corner, is that I save a bit of cash......and my average spend there might be €20.......so if everytime I went there was an extra €1 or €2 for charities, you might say I'm being cheap about it but I just didnt have the money. And it was dead embarrassing that someone was standing at the checkout saying will I pack your bags for you, and I am saying no sorry, I'll pack them myself. It was awkwardness I could do without in my life.

Rasheed

Stealth Recce wrote: »

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Legends, Mods and donators alike!

Yeah exactly! There's a lot of people begrudging different things now, public servants, the dole, 'the prams', etc etc

But when the shiite hits the fan for someone, or when a place is really deserving, people are really decent.

Makes a decent change then the usual giving out about someone that got something for nothing or the like.

Johro

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

Yeah but people protested it. Ordinary people are very generous here in offering help to anyone in real need, especially in rural communities.

Kettleson

It may be that when people are in need or distress, it gives them more empathy for those others in need?

Having said that, I'm not sure that charitable donations have gone up, but rather down significantly, would be my guess.

Maybe if you had seen that farmer raffling his cow for charity in 2005, it may not have had the same impact on you?

Adding a pinch of cynicism, its also a great advertisement/pr job for “Lisnageeragh Limousins”, the story will go national for sure...

tinkerbell

It actually really annoys me, more infuriates me, when I see people collecting for something in supermarkets and packing the bags. You feel like then you are forced into giving them money, and it drives me mad when it's some young kids packing your bags and they pack them all wrong. Dunnes are the worst for doing this. One year my local Dunnes had bag packers on the tills every weekend for months, I hated it so I just stopped going there. It's never an actual charity either, it's always "send the local kids football team away" or whatever. If I had kids and if they were on a team, I'd give them money, but I sure as hell am not giving money for random kids to head off somewhere on the money I've worked hard to earn. So I just say "thanks but it's ok, I can pack myself" when I'm asked if I need "help" with packing and I don't drop anything into the bucket.

I have no issue with donating to a worthy charity by the way, and would give money to the Guide Dogs, Cancer Society, children's charity, etc.

Rasheed

Kettleson wrote: »

Maybe if you had seen that farmer raffling his cow for charity in 2005, it may not have had the same impact on you?

Well no because we weren't in a big recession then!

I just thought it was a great example of how people can be so good natured at times and get together to help out sonething/ body.

padd b1975

Rasheed wrote: »

Then I heard of this competition where a man put up his bull for a prize to
help find raise for his school. Taking a pro active approach to a school
threatened.

Its really a horse.

Fox_In_Socks

Tombo2001 wrote: »

I'd have a different view on this one.

There was a stage there were nearly every time I went into a Tesco there was someone collecting for something.

They were all bona fide charities, or local sports clubs maybe, and fair play to Tesco for allowing them to do it.....but for me the whole point of going to Tesco, say rather than the local shop around the corner, is that I save a bit of cash......and my average spend there might be €20.......so if everytime I went there was an extra €1 or €2 for charities, you might say I'm being cheap about it but I just didnt have the money. And it was dead embarrassing that someone was standing at the checkout saying will I pack your bags for you, and I am saying no sorry, I'll pack them myself. It was awkwardness I could do without in my life.

tinkerbell wrote: »

It actually really annoys me, more infuriates me, when I see people collecting for something in supermarkets and packing the bags. You feel like then you are forced into giving them money, and it drives me mad when it's some young kids packing your bags and they pack them all wrong. Dunnes are the worst for doing this. One year my local Dunnes had bag packers on the tills every weekend for months, I hated it so I just stopped going there. It's never an actual charity either, it's always "send the local kids football team away" or whatever. If I had kids and if they were on a team, I'd give them money, but I sure as hell am not giving money for random kids to head off somewhere on the money I've worked hard to earn. So I just say "thanks but it's ok, I can pack myself" when I'm asked if I need "help" with packing and I don't drop anything into the bucket.

I have no issue with donating to a worthy charity by the way, and would give money to the Guide Dogs, Cancer Society, children's charity, etc.

I agree. I mean what if you have something like a jumbo pack of toilet paper. Or condoms! And some child is there putting them away for you. Ugh!

Kettleson

Rasheed wrote: »

Well no because we weren't in a big recession then!

I just thought it was a great example of how people can be so good natured at times and get together to help out sonething/ body.

I agree Rasheed, it would have more impact on me now...however the cynic in me also notes that the sponsors for all prizes are established business...

Rasheed

Kettleson wrote: »

I agree Rasheed, it would have more impact on me now...however the cynic in me also notes that the sponsors for all prizes are established business...

Well this man is just an ordinary farmer, but yeah, I agree sometimes there's an ulterior motive!

starlings

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

I agree with you on the sponsored holiday lark, but I don't like collections at tills either because I think they're intrusive and I really don't have money to spare. I'd prefer to help out directly because I think decency is more how you look after people than throwing a few coins in a bucket. Doesn't even have to be for charity -a bit of kindness goes a very long way.

Kettleson

Rasheed wrote: »

Well this man is just an ordinary farmer, but yeah, I agree sometimes there's an ulterior motive!

I don't think he is an ordinary farmer Rasheed, I think he is a specialist Limousin breeder, and he'll be getting a lot of free publicity out of this.

Its not like he's Jack, from Jack and the Beanstalk fame, taking his last poor animal to market.

All businesses do it, it has a payback. But it's still a fantastic gesture. But the PR angle on it is skewed...

EDIT: "Kindly sponsored by Des & Sharon Joyce, “Lisnageeragh Limousins” Phone: 087

---

Bulls and Heifers for sale all year around." Why not give them a call?

Rasheed

I completely agree on the food packing at the tills though. Nobody should have to be coerced or 'blackmailed' into having to give money,that defeats the purpose and makes people bitter.

And they ALWAYS put something heavy on my eggs.

Cookie_Monster

starlings wrote: »

I'd prefer to help out directly because I think decency is more how you look after people than throwing a few coins in a bucket.

This, its easy to just throw money at something and forget about it but people who go out of their way and give up their own time is a far more decent thing to do. Invariably they get something back from it too, interaction with others, a decent chat, friendship etc etc and so much more beneficial to all

Rasheed

Kettleson wrote: »

I don't think he is an ordinary farmer Rasheed, I think he is a specialist Limousin breeder, and he'll be getting a lot of free publicity out of this.

Its not like he's Jack, from Jack and the Beanstalk fame, taking his last poor animal to market.

All businesses do it, it has a payback. But it's still a fantastic gesture. But the PR angle on it is skewed...

Yeah I knew he was a breeder, I know of the family, but not personally. He'll get his publicity alright but it's still €3,000 worth of stock he's giving! Hopefully he will get a bit in return.

Fair play to them for putting it on the news, great publicity.

Kettleson

Rasheed wrote: »

Yeah I knew he was a breeder, I know of the family, but not personally. He'll get his publicity alright but it's still €3,000 worth of stock he's giving! Hopefully he will get a bit in return.

Fair play to them for putting it on the news, great publicity.

Absolutely, they didnt have to give anything at all, so fair play to them.

Also remembering Live Aid...1985


"As Geldof mentioned during the concert, the Republic of Ireland gave the most donations per capita, despite being in the throes of a serious economic recession at the time".

Crea

I'm involved with our local parents council trying to fundraise for the school. I can't get over how enthusiastic and generous people are with their time. They were recommending doing bag packing and I said no way - hate them.

alphabeat

i didnt know dunnes had banned animal charitys

they can shove their shop up their hole so .

Mountainsandh

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

+1 Climbing Kilimanjaro, going to India... :mad:
and I hate when people look for sponsoring in your work environment, you're cornered into it because you see the people every day.

Giving a little, yes, no problem with that. Certainly not for someone to go get a tan and a feel good feeling from a "holiday of a lifetime" though. There are many other ways to raise funds, it's great what the farmer is doing, shaving heads or waxing legs and moustaches too, great ideas, and many more that don't involve flying someone off to an exotic location.


The way it's done over here, 80% of the time, puts me off giving altogether.

But yes, sorry I went off on a rant, Irish people can be brilliant in tough situations.

Rasheed

Kettleson wrote: »

Absolutely, they didnt have to give anything at all, so fair play to them.

Also remembering Live Aid...1985


"As Geldof mentioned during the concert, the Republic of Ireland gave the most donations per capita, despite being in the throes of a serious economic recession at the time".

Exactly, that very sentiment. Yes the Irish can be begrudging, blah blah blah, but when the chips are down, I never stop being suprised at how good people are.

Not just with money, but time/ food/ clothing or even a shoulder to cry on.

starlings

I swear I don't have ash on my forehead, but this thread reminded me of a bit of bible:

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Show-off charity =/= decency.

Kettleson

starlings wrote: »

I swear I don't have ash on my forehead, but this thread reminded me of a bit of bible:

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Show-off charity =/= decency.

Indeed, the regular church do-gooders are great at bigging up their "good deeds", with nice wee photo opportunities into the bargain.

"Church, the last refuge of a scoundrel".

honerbright

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

Gotta remember though that Dunnes banned animal charities cause some guy was threatening to hold protests outside everytime a particular galway rescue wanted to bag pack and so they had to keep cancelling on that particular rescue as the guy kept contacting head office etc.
It really does suck for the animal charities, but at the end of the day, Dunnes is a business and their main goal is to make money - I'm sure more people would avoid going in if they had to walk through a protest to get their than if they banned animal charities from collecting.
Used to work in Dunnes and afaik my particular one no longer allows kids sports teams to collect either.

Mountainsandh

I'm in the countryside, and it always amazes me how people really help out when someone's in trouble. A lot of us in my community are in remote houses, but if someone breaks their leg and can't drive for example (or even, as I've witnessed many times, someone who's off driving for a while after being caught), there will be a few regulars not saying a thing but just pulling up in the driveway to take them out to town.

I know a fellow across the fields from me who has a whole network of people to taxi around and visit, to make sure they're ok. He's well in his 60s himself, has his own problems, but that's what he does, factures in some taxying or visiting, or helping out every day of his life.

I spend a good bit of time on my own, Mr M travels a lot, well, I went through the restoration of our home and 2 pregnancies without a bother, year in, year out, thanks to the kindness of people in my area.

For example one year we hadn't done the pvc piping/gutters around the house yet, and rats got into the attic via the old wooden soffits. Every day, for about 3 weeks, 3 local older men came and organized a rat eradication routine. One would call in the morning to check pipes with poison, the other around lunchtime to check traps in the attic, and another one (the taximan) every evening to double check everything and make sure I was ok. We got rid of all the rats, or rather they did, I wasn't allowed do anything except make cups of tay.

edit : a bit OT, but I think that illustrates the point, and imo, counts more than throwing coins in a bucket.

brummytom

Does anyone have any figures on contributions to charity and its correlation with the economic climate of the country? I know that sounds like a strange question, but I'd find it really interesting to find out.

I'd have thought people would be 'tighter' with their money when they have less of it, but looking at community events, and even the SSF here, it seems that when everyone's in the shít, there's more of a 'we're all in this together' mentality, rather than the more selfish 'us and them' mentality that seems to prevail in booms.

YellowFeather

I think that, with so many people struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, etc., it does lead to greater empathy with those who are in a bad way financially.

I'm lucky enough myself in that I can live and keep up with payments - although savings are a thing of the past! But I found out recently a good friend (who is in full time employment) had to go to St. Vincent De Paul after being messed around by a landlord who didn't refund her deposit in time when she was moving homes, and she was left with no money two weeks before payday. She never told me that she was in such difficulties until months afterwards.

I was in situation not too long ago where I needed to contribute almost everything I had to get a family member into care, and I ended up spending the last two days before I got paid with no money and no food. I didn't want to ask anybody for help, and I'll always remember being hungry and sad. There's a big difference between being hungry 'causes you don't have time for lunch, and being hungry knowing that there's nothing you can do about it. It makes you feel very, very low.

Since all that happened, I've been volunteering with SVDP, along with any other charities I can. It's so rewarding, especially when you know how much of a difference these charities make. I'll never forget hearing my friend telling me that, when she got the SVDP vouchers, she went straight out and bought eggs and milk and veg and chicken and she felt like a real person again having food and being able to cook dinner for herself.

Rasheed

brummytom wrote: »

Does anyone have any figures on contributions to charity and its correlation with the economic climate of the country? I know that sounds like a strange question, but I'd find it really interesting to find out.

I'd have thought people would be 'tighter' with their money when they have less of it, but looking at community events, and even the SSF here, it seems that when everyone's in the shít, there's more of a 'we're all in this together' mentality, rather than the more selfish 'us and them' mentality that seems to prevail in booms.

There seemed to be a bit of the jealousy thing creeping in, more so than usual, when people did start getting money and enjoying a certain lifestyle, a few years back. The old ' who does she think she is with her BMW/ Chanel handbag/ holiday to Dubai'.

But I definitely think that when the chips are down, most will see that if we all help each other out, be it with money or time, it just makes life easier for everyone.

token101

starlings wrote: »

I swear I don't have ash on my forehead, but this thread reminded me of a bit of bible:

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Show-off charity =/= decency.

I think you'll find the bible has a couple of things that are, at best, debatable. Guy gets some free PR, kids or whoever get some free money? What's wrong with it? He wants to advertise, so isn't it better the money goes to a good cause rather to pay inflated salaries in RTE? He did it for a payback, it's better than doing just to secure a plushier seat in 'heaven'.

Eve_Dublin

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I used to think so then Dunnes banned all animal charities collecting in their stores. So many rescues depended on that money. People protested lots of people signed a petition and also contacted Dunnes to express their upset about the ban. Dunnes response has been to 'Not Respond', at all. They've ignored the whole thing.

But not to worry somebody collecting for a holiday of a lifetime,sorry sponsored walk of Great wall of china etc is welcome:mad:

I don't see how this disproves that most people are decent though. Dunnes Stores are a business, not the general public.


The Irish are the second most charitable country in the world after the States. I think the Irish are really decent in this respect. You have to give credit where credit is due sometimes.

youtube!

Might sound controversial to some but the old saying of "Charity begins at home" needs to be followed a lot more these days. What is the point of giving so much overseas aid to countries when we need it here first ? Also we can't even be certain that any of it gets to the charity it's suppose to represent ! Just look at the Uganda scandal in 2012. Money given to charity can often disappear down a black hole but when it's at a local level it's a lot less likely for that to happen

I give to a charity by dd and I give to the SVDP at Christmas, because I am lucky to have the life I have and because it is the right thing to do...I always give to any Charity collectors that are not chuggers, most of the time its just a bit of change from my purse not a lot of money I do it because I respect the fact that people give of their time. The People giving out about the bag pack for a sports team or scouts trip are very mean spirited IMO.

I love the fact the we give a lot of foreign aid relative to the size of our country or the fact that we give so much to charities ( I do not like chuggers and will not support any charity that use them).

starlings

token101 wrote: »

I think you'll find the bible has a couple of things that are, at best, debatable. Guy gets some free PR, kids or whoever get some free money? What's wrong with it? He wants to advertise, so isn't it better the money goes to a good cause rather to pay inflated salaries in RTE? He did it for a payback, it's better than doing just to secure a plushier seat in 'heaven'.

As I said, I don't have ash on my forehead and I find the bible mostly tedious. i don't care about the heaven bit of the quote, just the bit that says showing off your good works is not the point of doing good. The farmer giving his bull to raise money for the school is roughly quid pro quo in aid:advertising and fair play to him, but it's a charitable sponsorship. What I was getting at was that decency is not the same as showing off your fundraising, it's kindness you do without fanfare, like helping someone get a buggy up steps, offering a lift when it's raining etc.

Pumpkinseeds

honerbright wrote: »

Gotta remember though that Dunnes banned animal charities cause some guy was threatening to hold protests outside everytime a particular galway rescue wanted to bag pack and so they had to keep cancelling on that particular rescue as the guy kept contacting head office etc.
It really does suck for the animal charities, but at the end of the day, Dunnes is a business and their main goal is to make money - I'm sure more people would avoid going in if they had to walk through a protest to get their than if they banned animal charities from collecting.
Used to work in Dunnes and afaik my particular one no longer allows kids sports teams to collect either.

I remember that, as far as I recall he was a member of a fairly prominent Galway business family. For whatever reason that charity and other Galway animal charities felt he wasn't suitable to adopt and they wouldn't give him a cat. There was a huge to do about it and he set out to try to destroy the charity out of spite and malice. His own family washed their hands of the whole thing as he was trying to use their clout to further his cause.

I don't accept that he was the reason that Dunnes banned animal charities collecting, they must get their fair share of nut jobs phoning to complain about something. I think that only registered charities, where 100% of the profits raised and that go straight into local charities should be allowed to bag pack. It would significantly reduce the numbers collecting and people would know that their money was being spent to benefit their community. It bugs the hell out of me to see people collecting for say a football club in different town. They can feck right off.

Cupcake_Crisis

I think we've become more decent in regards to money all round, not just when it comes to charity. Not so long ago a guy followed me from the shop to my car to give me back a €20 note that i'd dropped at the till. Honest, decent, salt of the earth chap. He really made my day.

corktina

i do get a bit pee'd off by collections for local sports clubs. I don't go looking for others to sponsor my hobbies, why do they seem to think that people should for theirs?

And don't get me started about the FAKE charities collecting outside supermarkets etc...