Gift Ideas Faqs
Has this ever happened to you while doing charity work?
At two of the places I worked, we would get together baskets of food & gifts for families/kids in need & would distribute them around the holidays. This was a huge, nationally known charity. Most of the families were so appreciative and were actually in need. However, some of them were unreal &how they got on the list of the needy was beyond me. Twice when I went we left the baskets & gifts at homes that had computers, internet, cable, a nice TV, stereo. The mother was on the couch, no kids in sight, & just waved to us & said "put them on the table" &went back to watching her soaps. No thank you or anything - like it was her due to receive this stuff. Amazing how she got on this needy list, taking things away from those that really needed them. I blame the charity. Their warehouses were packed with things to distribute. From then on, we went with smaller charities & churches who actually knew the needy families. What kind of experiences have you had?
Public Comments
- I think that you shouldn't judge this woman, because you do not know her either. Maybe her child bought her the stuff she has. Maybe it was from another charity. Who knows. You certainly didn't.
- At least once a month, some one in our parish cites a story, such as yours, as the reason that they don't contribute to food banks and charities. Sadly, this sort of thing does happen. If you have ever been part of a charity screening process; you'd probably notice that the interview process is pretty basic. Charities ask a few basic questions such as name, address, number of kids, and income. And if someone has phony ID or is borrowing a neighbors or relatives ID? We have really no way to determine if they are who they say they are...and, forget about asking for social security numbers; with the new privacy laws, we can't even ask for those any more. It's a challenge for sure. Certainly, charities could require all kinds of ID to "weed out" the cheaters ~ we could demand birth certificates, and rental agreements, tax returns, utility bills and all sorts of things. However, people who are homeless or in living in excruciating poverty do not have this sort of information. Do we deny them food because they can't prove that they need it? It's a fine line that we have to walk when comes to helping the poor ~ but, I've always been of the opinion that is better to let a few scoundrels slip through the cracks, than to deny food to hundreds of others who haven't eaten in a week.
- I have not worked for actual charitys in that way but I do know of families I feel to often take advantage of charities and I kind it bad when others could realy use the stuff more
- thats is amazing i have never had a charity experience like that one but i have had realy good charity experiences.i think its awsome to go out and serve the lord by doing stuff like that because its reaching out to people who aren't Christians. so that's my answer
- I worked for a non profit organization and sometimes situations are not as they appear. One homeless family we helped get into an apartment and a year later a rich client passed away and requested his belongings be given to people infected with the same disease he was infected with. When family services went out to the receiving client’s home, they complained that she had a couch with wood carved roses and other pricy furnishings. Also, social assistance is often based on household income and requires that income to be no more than 200 – 400% of the national poverty level. If that person earns too much they will not be eligible for medical aide that may be an sum greater than what an average person earns- such as people with HIV, treatment and medicine can cost $80,000 a year. Average people cannot earn enough to support them self plus pay for this medical expense (people with HIV get dropped from private insurances based on other special plans available, but these plans require those infected to stop earning a living). The woman in your case may be tired of being judged so she no longer says anything to those who deliver donations. I am not defending people who abuse the system. Just, sometimes situations are not what they appear to be and many of our social programs depend on having high enough numbers (people per community) for the area to be eligible for any federal funding. This means local social services may encourage abuse so to get their numbers high enough. Peronal experience with one organization: 50 % of those who receive services truely need it, 40 % are forced into poverty to meet eligibilty for medical tx and medicine they need, and 10% are abusing the system.
- Ancient wisdom teaches us not to judge a book by its cover. Things may not be what they seem in that household. The mother may suffer from a mental or physical illness that restricts her movement and saps her energy. That might have been an especially bad day for her--or worse, an especially good one. Just because she didn't appear appreciative doesn't mean that the family doesn't need help. Likewise, just because the family is able to enjoy a few luxuries doesn't mean that they do not need assistance, or are unworthy of it. That's not to say that families don't abuse the system. Some do. You should report your concerns to someone in charge of making the lists, but be sure not to draw conclusions that may be false.
- I'm afraid if you came into my home with your charity, you would think the same of me, but my computer was donated by a boy's and girl's club that had gotten new ones and my psychiatric nurse's husband did all the computer work for them. I have an okay T.V. it was a Christmas gift from my children. My brother and sister gave me cable for my birthday. I have some okay furniture but EVERY stick is hand me down. I'm disabled, I live on $740.00 a month from which I pay rent, electricity, gas, water, phone, groceries,soaps, paper products, and I take about $2000.00 yes thousand in meds. a month. If it weren't for charities I'd be dead. Please be careful when passing judgment. Thank you
