To donate or not…..
Firstly for our overseas chatters who may or may not know what I am talking about, in this Country we now have what are known as food banks, these are containers set up at varying sites, usually in the supermarkets in which you can place items of food to help the needy, these people who are eventually allocated food parcels have been thoroughly vetted and have been deemed to be in need……. so to my grouse, I put food in these boxes when I shop, no big deal, a couple of quids worth of tins is not going to break the bank, I also donate to overseas charities when there are disasters, so can anyone tell me why, when I do this, there is always someone to pipe up and say your wasting your money, the people who are receiving the food parcels are benefit scroungers and don’t want work, they know this how ?……..its the Governments responsibility to sort the mess out not yours, yes I already know that, so in the meantime people are going hungry until the powers that be get their finger out ……..now to the overseas donations, I get told, your donation will never get to the source it is meant for……….do these people who pour cold water on my donations do it to justify their own reluctance to donate, even though they can well afford too, just wondering…………I find food banks a disgusting state of affairs in Britain, and the shame people must feel when collecting their food parcels, would anyone really want to be seen doing this if they were not pretty desperate ?………..xx
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Senior Chatters
Good blog Star, by the way you look younger these days ! What’s your secret? Lol.
Many times I’ve asked myself that question when I give a donation to some beggar on the streets .
But ,in all reality we don’t know the real situation people may be going through . So ,I give them something anyway ! And what they do with it is up to them , It may buy them a piece of bread or something hot to drink on a very cold day .
I’ve heard many say ,” it’s a business ” ” they make a living by begging “.
They might ,I don’t know , all I know is that I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.
The majority of these people ( the beggars ,the homeless ) suffer from some kind of mental illness or terrible addictions .
I’d like to think that if anyone I care about finds himself /herself in a similar situation some day . Someone would give them a hand .
Hello nmod, I have discovered the elixir of youth, drunk it every night for two weeks, took me right back to age 17 it did…….TeeHee……..and you know what, I always throw some change in the hats for the street musicians too, why not, they entertain me and make me smile…..give everyone the benefit of the doubt that’s what I say………..there but for the grace of God…….xx
I always give something…there are many ex-army men on the streets through no fault of their own.. as you say star but for the grace of God.
Hi Tania, yes I have read of ex servicemen who are unable to settle back into civvie street because their minds has been messed up with the atrocities they have witnessed……..who knows the stories behind the homeless……..not all liars and vagabonds….xx
There are always two schools of thought on Charity …. If I see a person who is down on his luck , I will buy a hot pie and a hot drink and give it too them ,very unobtrusevly as I can , I do not give them money just in case it’s spent of alcohol or cigarettes, and a hot meal in such a cold place would be more beneficial, as to donating to overseas assistance ,I am with the Red Cross and I know out of heaps of Charities that are there, in a catastrophe or overseas very little of it is used for admin costs as the funding is by many other charities…
I still do not understand how in our Country where there is so many Charities to assist all who are homeless for whatever reason,some are still living on the streets, there are so many empty halls belonging to Councils and Churches , why they don’t allow the homeless into these empty halls out of the freezing cold astounds me….. We have one charity who supplies free of charge hard cardboard tents that fold down for those sleeping rough, so they can stow them during the day …..at least those cardboard type tents keep them out of the cold wind and rain. and we also have a hot food caravan that supplies free of charge hot foods such as pies pasties casseroles hot drinks etc: run by volunteers, all the homeless in our town are encouraged to come and have a talk and some hot nourishing food, many a youth have been saved by talking to welfare workers on this caravan….
Hello Lani, it’s very interesting to know that the bulk of the money donated to the Red Cross actually does get used for the purpose it is given……….don’t get me started on good solid buildings that are being pulled down, and dozens of boarded up properties………..but it would seem there are no funds available to run any more projects for the homeless………but maybe let the homeless just use them for shelter from the extreme weather without them being moved on……..better than shop doorways I would think……xx
Yes you are so right star and the cold here seeps through the bones , every night in my warm electric blanket i spare them a thought and wonder how they are keeping warm and dry ….
Let me ask myself this question please Star,
what kind of country am I living in? The social conscious and the sense of responsibility of any politician should clean the streets from beggars no matter where they come from.
Here in Germany we have hundreds of East-European beggar gangs which train their stuff in perfection of gaining compassion. I have 3 beggar who get regularly some money from me whenever I passing by.
Did you see that picture of the crying old man in the street of Athens who had nothing to eat for 3 days. Answer me; what world is that we are living in?? xxxM
Hello Michael. well I don’t have the answer to your question……..I haven’t a clue what has happened, I just know I can never remember food banks in existence in our country before, I could of course be wrong, we are not at war when they might be expected…………seems there are a lost less jobs for people to work at, but our benefit system is renowned for looking after the needy, very often I know illegal drug abuse have been the downfall of many, some I know have made themselves homeless to escape systematic sexual abuse on going from childhood, they escape as soon as possible albeit to the streets, I just know it’s a shameful state of affairs…….my daughter works with the young homeless, and there are very many reasons why they come into supported housing, but there isn’t enough funding to create and run more projects to deal with this crisis, hence they end up on the streets……….limitless amounts of money seems to be available for the arts and useless pieces of wire sculptures that we see springing up in our Towns and Cities, costing many thousands of pounds I might add………….And The World Turns……xxx
Starlette, Thank you for writing this blog.I agree with everyone. I not sure I understood Michael. I do not do enough and I don’t give enough, but I do have sympathy and compassion for all those who are hungry or homeless. Some charities, soak up money and give back very little, but that is no excuse for not giving. There are many good charities, and there are many ways to give. Many religions have fasting, and it helps people understand the pain and suffering of hunger. People don’t want to face the fact that people are homeless because they do not have a job. Many suffer afflictions and are not able to work. If we don’t want to help, we certainly should not blame the victims.
Yes Star, you say it correctly; the World turns and doesn’t care. You can call me of being a right wing person, I don’t mind cos it is true. We have so much distress to face with our own population and thousands and thousands of people from Bulgaria, Rumania come in in huge waves and we can’t offer them a future. What we can offer them is nothing.
They come with their children with absolutely no school experience, in a desolate health condition, with no language background, I’m so sad about this. The final result will be young prostitutes and criminals.
Don’t ask me please abou my meaning about our polititians and Brussels.
No I’m in the lucky position to escape with my thoughts back into a time which was harder but more human. Sorry to say that but I’m to soft, I’m not selfish enough for this time I live in. xxxM
Donate, all that your heart and purse permits. Use good sense in this as you do with all your money.
It’s very sad world,
For the beggars in our society,
I live not far from Newcastle upon Tyne
Where I regularly see a young guy begging
With his dog, on a Saturday morning
The same guy begs in York on a Monday
And Tuesday as I have a friend who has
An office near where he begs with his doggie,
This poor begging guy has a good Volvo car
Parked by the railway station in York
Where my friend gets the train home
After a hard days work
I guess it’s like my granny used to say that
Nothing is what it seems !! (“,>
Hello Peter, yes no doubt there are some who make a living from the kind hearts of people, but to sit there bored out of your tree for hours on end begging……..well they can have a few coppers from me, must be pretty desperate in one way or another to do that………..xx.