Posted on 10/06/2007 1:47:46 AM PDT by Paige
No need to get defensive — no one’s starting stories. Puppage raised reasonable questions and closed with “trust but verify,” which I think is not only reasonable, but mandatory. Any unfamiliar source ought to to be eyed with a healthy skepticism.
Sweeps are coming up. He'll find a problem whether it's there or not.
Right. There are some communities where PP is associated with, or runs, the only women's health clinics around. They vary widely. Some do nothing more than abortion and contraception, while others provide pre-natal care, mammograms and pap smears, even nutrition counseling.
I know that some folks around here see PP as nothing more than a for-profit abortion mill, and I'm not going to waste time trying to dissuade them from that. But I agree with your point that if PP is the most effective local organization in a given community, and the funds go where they're supposed to, there's nothing inappropriate.
Yes the walkathons produce revenue. Participants get t-shirts and the opportunity to socialize. I personally think that walking around is a waste of energy that could be applied to actually accomplishing something. What something might that be? ...clean up around a school ground. ...clean up around a church. ...clean up on public walkways littered with fast food wrappers and containers, etc. ...plant or spread mulch around a school or church. ...collect used items to cloth the poor. ...collect food for a food bank. ... rip out weeds and brush (especially invasive plants) where there should be none. There are many ways to productively engage manpower represented by the participants in walk-a-thons where you can actually accomplish something tangible instead of the feel good stuff.
I agree, as I did before, that there are better ways of helping. But walkathons don’t convince people to do a little instead of doing a lot — they convince people to do a little who would otherwise have done nothing. I don’t think it’s necessary to weigh one fundraising strategy over another; each has its place.
With one exception. Charity telemarketers are almost always a sham. Especially notorious are pitches for police and firefighters’ benevolent associations. I’m not demeaning those organizations themselves, but they seem to be a frequent topic for boiler room scams.
The scam goes like this: The scammer goes to a charity and makes an offer. They’ll give X amount of money in exchange for permission to use the charity’s name. Then what happens is that the telemarketer sets up a “boiler room,’ a cheap offic with a lot of phone lines, and runs a for-profit enterprise while the charity gets maybe 10% of the total donations.
When I get a call from a telemarketer, I usually hang up. Occasionally, I’ll ask for a Web site where I can look into it further. I do the same with most door-to-door pitches. A big red flag for me is any fundraising effort that wants a decision NOW. I buy Girl Scout cookies on the spot, though.
Because of that, most reputable charities, if they ever used telemarketers, have stopped. It’s ineffective and calls their credibility into question.
Back to the point. Walkathons do raise real money — not like the “charity balls” where society dames spend big money on catering, decorating and hiring a band or a speaker, not to mention their gowns and jewelry so thy can see and be seen, while only a trickle goes to the charity.
That is the way to go with giving other than helping others you personally know and as for the Salvation Army...they are great!
Thank you so much for doing this. MS is one of my pet causes since one of my closest friends has it. I am so glad to hear that such a large percentage goes to the cause. I also have another friend who does the MS walk, because her mother died from it.
I will check it out. Thanks!
Excellent tip on donating to women’s shelters.
I have given up donating to the Red Cross, however. I have heard too many stories from servicemen about how the Red Cross treated them poorly. They are kind of a mix of “sort of ok” and “could do a lot better” in my book.
I’m glad to do it. They do a great job.
This year there were two women standing on the side of the road holding big posters that simply said “thank you.”
Being a little exhausted after about 190 miles, I must say that I had to slow down a little cause the road got a little blurry.
Dude,I’m “walking foo the cause” every day! The number of miles I have covered should of been enough to cure all of the incurable diseases!
Sorry, dear, but you are the one making accusations of fraud without confirmation. You can invoke religion, you can try to discredit me by calling me a liberal, which you know I am not, but the fact remains that I have challenged you to do nothing more than be fair--by making sure that you can document your claim that money is being used fraudulently. Failing to do so is a good way to find yourself on the wrong end of a libel suit.
The mere giving of funds from Komen to PP proves *nothing.* And I have to doubt the author's claim that 495K in Komen money was used to build a Dallas abortion clinic last year. That amount sounds suspiciously like the total of all Komen grants for 2006--which were spread out in small increments among many local PP clinics.
You are sent the places pulling their monies. Keep sticking your head in the sand. BTW, which campaign do you work for, Hillary? You are much like them.
This is from the author of the article...
“Before making yourself look more foolish, google the Susan G Komen’s ties to Planned Parenthood. I’m certain you’ll find dozens of articles linking them. You might also call or write the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, SC, or Phoenix, Az., and ask them why they pulled their support of the “race for the cure”. Rich Carroll
I will make one last try to get through to you.
The mere existence of a tie between the organizations is NOT enough to allege fraud. If Komen gives PP money for breast cancer programs and PP uses it as intended, there is no fraud. Except in the minds of those who believe that any transfer of money to PP is intolerable. I happen to prefer that low-income women get mammograms.
Now if the author’s beef is simply that there is a transfer of money, he should say that and only that. He should not accuse PP of using the Komen money for abortion unless he has evidence, which I have yet to see.
It’s HIS responsibility to document what he says. And to not bear false witness against anyone.
Very simply - avoid all symbolic action touted to help a cause. You will seldom go wrong and look at the energy/money you won’t be wasting. Same goes for the upcoming Light Out hour (at least in the banana republic of Los Angeles.) As for me, my lights will be burning brightly that evening.
Damn the light bill! Full speed freedom ahead!!!
I am still shaking my head thinking how absolutely impuissant and equivocal you lefties are.
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