Homeless charities and the red cross all suck

[krazykidd]

All i want to know , is why is it , every person that is on the street trying to get donation for their charity ( at least that iv'e seen ) , is a white guy ( sometimes girl ) with dreadlocks , and a questionable sense of style ( hippy is the closest i can think of )? I mean , is it too much to ask , that these people wear something normal when trying to convince the general population to help their cause or charity . Dress properly , and MAYBE , i'll listen to what you have to say , as it stands i wouldn't trust you with my pennies .

I agree. The fashion of the volunteers trying to get donations for their charity is choice, is the only thing that matters when I decide whether or not to donate, the cause doesn't matter. And dressing like hippies is bad, since hippies are probably socialists, and we all know that socialist just spends all their money on weed (That's what socialists do, really). If they'd just wear a suit instead, it would be so much better! Because suits are what bankers wear, and we all know how trustable bankers are

In fact, I think it'd be a great idea if charities gave each volunteer a tailored suit. That's money well spent, improving their image and all. After that, I think the charities perhaps should start lending out money...

Of course, that was all sarcasm. Volunteers are mostly made up of young, idealistic folks who tend to be rather anti-materialistic. They wear clothing you can buy cheap in thrift stores (Giving you the whole 'hippie look'), so they can donate more money to charities.
If you truly care about what clothing the volunteer wears, and their clothing is your main concern when it comes to if you should listen to what they have to talk about, I can tell you straight, you're not a part of the target group of charities.
They're looking for people who are willing to give up some money to try and make the world a better place for us all, not fashion nazis who decides the value of your cause by the cloth you're wearing.

Wow looks like i struck a cord . I'm not expecting them to be wearing suits ( although , i would be more likely to stop ) , just a pair of jeans and a shirt , is that too much to ask? Contrary to what you may believe , a way a person dresses counts for a lot . The way you are dressed can help determine how a person perceives you. Dreadlocks and ripped clothing , with multi-colored scarfs doesn't really scream trustworthy.

And what target demographic? Donation are donation no matter who they are from . I'll be happy to donate to someone or a cause i feel like i can trust . But if my first thought when seeing a person is doubt them , then that person is doing something wrong .

 

[fenrizz]

Wow looks like i struck a cord . I'm not expecting them to be wearing suits ( although , i would be more likely to stop ) , just a pair of jeans and a shirt , is that too much to ask? Contrary to what you may believe , a way a person dresses counts for a lot . The way you are perceived , can help determine how a person perceives you. Dreadlocks and ripped clothing , with multi-colored scarfs doesn't really scream trustworthy.

Colored scarf? Is that by any chance a Palestinian scarf you are referring to?

Anyway, that sounds exactly like the a stereotypical young idealist.
If you cannot trust your pennies with them, who can you?

And what target demographic? Donation are donation no magter who they are from . I'll be happy to donate to someone or a cause i feel like i can trust . But if my first thought when seeing a person is doubt them , then that person is doing something wrong .

Or perhaps the fault lies with you, being all judgmental and all?

 

[Screamarie]

Believe it or not, people who work in various shelters can tell when someone isn't homeless. They see people come in and out, see in their eyes the pain and tiredness as cliche as it sounds. You work with enough people and you really can read things about them in their posture, the look in their eyes, facial expressions, and just the body in general. More than likely they were BS'ing you just like you were BS'ing them.

What was the point? To see if there was room in the shelter? Well I can guarantee you there wasn't, there never is, it's very rare that a shelter is going to have a free bed past a certain time of night. To see if they take good care of the homeless? Well there's not much they can do...they can provide a roof, a bed, a toilet, and hopefully some food...but that's it. They don't have enough money or man power to make everything all better...the only thing they can do is let as many people in as they can so that they don't freeze overnight.

You wasted their time and I'm VERY glad you didn't get let in because then you would have been taking the place of someone WHO ACTUALLY NEEDED IT! If you want to know what and how well these charities work, then VOLUNTEER! You'll see just about everything from there and you'll be helping instead of hindering.

I understand being wary of certain charities, whether or not you should give them your money, there are plenty of charities that really don't see to help anyone or just keep on this endless cycle of collect money to fund trying to collect more money. It happens and yes, sometimes a charity is an out and out FRAUD....but that's rare.

If your still so wary of them then just give money to an actual homeless person. Maybe they'll just spend it on booze, but they probably need a drink.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I donate time instead of money. ("blah blah time is money platitude..blah")
With that arrangement, I can tell pretty much immediately exactly where my intended benevolence is going.
It's kind of disgusting how many charities are just for-profit marketing firms attached to a tax-credit machine.

 

[Defeated Detective]

I did a test, since I didn't believe my friend about just how useless these organizations actually are.

No second night out are guys that'll basically leave you waiting at a spot all night before fully not ever showing up, Shelter seem to have shops all over the place that accept donations and sell goods but not one place to actually visit and ask for help, went to one of the main offices and not only did they not help, they couldn't point me to anywhere that could (lol) centre point... don't even get me started.

The funniest parts were when I sent each charity 2 different e-mails ... 1. asking for help as a homeless person, 2. asking to donate

I've not heard back from any of them as a homeless dude (been 5 days) but the "can I donate" e-mails were replied almost instantly ROTFL

Cherry on the icing was when we allowed ourselves to be stopped by 4 people from the red cross and even after explaining that we were homeless ... all 4 still pushed for our credit card information.

What are these things and where is everyones money going?

I'm a homeless guy, and let me tell you one thing, you're going to the wrong places and Red Cross isn't a charitable institution that's aimed for helping homeless people. If you're looking for an institution that actually helps homeless people, the ones I know that's on top of my head that's within most states in the US are Salvation Army(Which serve burritos during breakfast and free showers from 7am to 9:30am, they also serve a huge dinner during Sundays at 6am) and Catholic Charities(They have counselors that assist you with food, clothing and how to get food stamps). A county's rescue mission however is good based on how much funding it gets, here in Santa Barbara, we get decent meals in rescue missions due to the fact that the state has a transient tax(which goes to financially support bedding and food for people who are homeless).

Let me tell you one thing I always tell people, being homeless here in the US is far more better and convenient than how 60% of the people in my country(Philippines) are living.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I'd just like to say that the International Headquarters for the Salvation Army is a big fancy building, built on prime real-estate in the shadow of the St. Paul Cathedral in London and is basically the first thing you see getting of the Millennium Bridge. If I had to guess, the location itself must have cost in the millions. In addition, it has Bible verses written all over the windows.

So keep that in mind the next time your looking to donate somewhere.

 

[Ariyura]

I'd just like to say that the International Headquarters for the Salvation Army is a big fancy building, built on prime real-estate in the shadow of the St. Paul Cathedral in London and is basically the first thing you see getting of the Millennium Bridge. If I had to guess, the location itself must have cost in the millions. In addition, it has Bible verses written all over the windows.

So keep that in mind the next time your looking to donate somewhere.

Sometimes presentation is key when trying to pull in investors for a good cause. I work for a non profit and we have one main nice building where we hold meetings for investors, news agencies and the like. The salvation army has a huge task to bear when it comes to helping people and where I live they do a damn lot for them. Meals, a room to stay at night until they reach capacity, job help, showers, etc.

I can't afford to donate money to them but I put my time in, in their kitchens.

 

[Dansen]

Charities dont solve problems. They band aid them.

Look at Africa. Aid workers go over and feed some kids and give some malaria shots and things are ok for a while. But the the essential problems africa has are not cured and the problem remains. The real successes come from helping people help themselves and far more could be done to save the country by simply cancelling Africas debt than 50 years of aid packages.


Homelessness is a big problem which needs some complex remedies, but charities like shelter are not solving anything. Just buying time.

And people call me cynical...

In regards to Africa, the whole situation there is driven by corporate and government interests of first world countries as it ensures their dominance over the region. Economic imperialism. Canceling their debts would do jack shit they own none of the important infrastructure, it all belongs it foreign companies. They would fall right back into debt in an attempt to survive. The only way to raise a third world country up would be the nationalization of all industries in the area regardless of the owner. But we can't have that, nationalization would bring economic growth, growth that would threaten the economic superiority of the wealthy nations. The situation in Africa is many things, simple is not one of them.

To adress the homelessness issue, yes you are right, homeless shelters aren't a permanent solution but at least they are trying to do something. They aren't the solution but they sure are a step in the right direction.


OT:
Looking at some of these posts makes me wonder if some of these people have ever volunteered for a charity group before, it isn't easy.

 

[Defeated Detective]

I'd just like to say that the International Headquarters for the Salvation Army is a big fancy building, built on prime real-estate in the shadow of the St. Paul Cathedral in London and is basically the first thing you see getting of the Millennium Bridge. If I had to guess, the location itself must have cost in the millions. In addition, it has Bible verses written all over the windows.

So keep that in mind the next time your looking to donate somewhere.

Wow really? You don't even know what it's like to be one of the homeless they actually help out. Stop talking shit off your ass without a solid basis.

I've been homeless for a year and a half and Salvation Army is the best charitable institution out there with individuals who are intent on doing their best to help the homeless be off the streets with the already limited resources they have.

You want people to die by telling them to avoid Salvation Army when they're struggling in life? go ahead, but that doesn't change the fact as to how retarded your whole basis is.

 

[lacktheknack]

Charities dont solve problems. They band aid them.

Look at Africa. Aid workers go over and feed some kids and give some malaria shots and things are ok for a while. But the the essential problems africa has are not cured and the problem remains. The real successes come from helping people help themselves and far more could be done to save the country by simply cancelling Africas debt than 50 years of aid packages.


Homelessness is a big problem which needs some complex remedies, but charities like shelter are not solving anything. Just buying time.

This is true, and the truly bitter truth is that helping people is hard... and really, really expensive.

http://thewaterproject.org/digging-wells-in-africa-and-india-how-it-works.asp

That right there is a charity that directly helps thousands by digging wells, allowing for clean water to be available to the public. This is pretty much the absolute baseline for any attempt of increasing quality of life.

But notice that they put predictions for a deep-water-well in Kenya at around $30,000. That's how much a non-band-aid fix costs.

Yes, it builds up if people direct their donations, but the sad truth is that, if someone has thirty dollars to donate, and they have a choice between "malaria nets, health supplies and some food" and "0.1% of a well", they're going to go with the one that sounds like they're doing more, regardless of whether that's true or not.

 

[Yopaz]

Charities are like a cancer. The more you feed them the more they grow.

Take a look at Oxfam some time. District managers get a big wage and a company car. They even get people in to give the VOLUNTEERS prep talks on upselling.

I'm sorry but that is a terrible way of looking at this. There are many good charities that actually solve problems and help people. Just because there are people preying upon these people and using them, does not mean that ALL charities do so, and to suggest such is clearly false. The MANY medical charities save lives, and if you actually volunteered at an actual homeless shelter, you would see exactly the impact this has on many lives.

True, there are good ones out there, but there's far too many large scale frauds in my opinion. I have donated to an organization two or three times because they were pestering me, calling me several times a day and not taking no for an answer either of the times I actually picked up. I did a few checks and found out they keep more than 90% of the money they bring in, sometimes more.

Some charities for disaster victims have spent their money building up the places where tourists are likely to go and kept the leftovers while the people who were affected the worst still suffer.

Of course I have come across charities that keep as little as they can get away with and actually sends me letters thanking me for my continued support and gives me detailed information of what they have done the past few months and how the money is distributed.

I'm not sure if I want to call myself a cynic when I criticize charities, because there is cause to criticize them. It's easy to do the research to find out if a charity is worth supporting or not, but the fact that we have to research a charity in order to tell if they are running a scam shows that this is far from an ideal situation.

 

[Ratties]

All i want to know , is why is it , every person that is on the street trying to get donation for their charity ( at least that iv'e seen ) , is a white guy ( sometimes girl ) with dreadlocks , and a questionable sense of style ( hippy is the closest i can think of )? I mean , is it too much to ask , that these people wear something normal when trying to convince the general population to help their cause or charity . Dress properly , and MAYBE , i'll listen to what you have to say , as it stands i wouldn't trust you with my pennies .

here is the funniest way to confuse a homeless person that asks for change. They are all over in my hometown. The look on their face is confusion, with a twist of anger after they figure it out.

Homeless person: Hey man, do you have any change.

Melook deep into their eyes) Change comes from within.

Homeless personLook of confusion) Um what are you talking about.

10 minutes later

Look back to see that they are pissed, lol.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

Charities are like a cancer. The more you feed them the more they grow.

Take a look at Oxfam some time. District managers get a big wage and a company car. They even get people in to give the VOLUNTEERS prep talks on upselling.

I'm sorry but that is a terrible way of looking at this. There are many good charities that actually solve problems and help people. Just because there are people preying upon these people and using them, does not mean that ALL charities do so, and to suggest such is clearly false. The MANY medical charities save lives, and if you actually volunteered at an actual homeless shelter, you would see exactly the impact this has on many lives.

True, there are good ones out there, but there's far too many large scale frauds in my opinion. I have donated to an organization two or three times because they were pestering me, calling me several times a day and not taking no for an answer either of the times I actually picked up. I did a few checks and found out they keep more than 90% of the money they bring in, sometimes more.

Some charities for disaster victims have spent their money building up the places where tourists are likely to go and kept the leftovers while the people who were affected the worst still suffer.

Of course I have come across charities that keep as little as they can get away with and actually sends me letters thanking me for my continued support and gives me detailed information of what they have done the past few months and how the money is distributed.

I'm not sure if I want to call myself a cynic when I criticize charities, because there is cause to criticize them. It's easy to do the research to find out if a charity is worth supporting or not, but the fact that we have to research a charity in order to tell if they are running a scam shows that this is far from an ideal situation.

Most of the charities I deal with do not even have much advertising and have never approached me for donations prior to me finding them. I also think that you cannot judge a charity by the actions of one group among them, as I found out researching the different branches of Habitat for humanity, I would have thought all of them to be outstanding, because the ones in my area are, but when you look into it further:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?FromRec=1&keyword_list=habitat+for+humanity&Submit2=GO&bay=search.results
Some are exceptional and others have a lot of issues depending on their location. I also do think research is important, and you shouldn't judge one branch by the actions of another. This also looks like a very good tool if you are volunteering as well. Some of these branches are not all that far apart, and just because one near you might not be well run, you can find another group in the area that is exceptional.

Although when using that site, I could not even find my branch on there. From what I have seen of my branch, they are bad ass and very transparent, but I guess the smaller population regions probably will not be on there.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

All i want to know , is why is it , every person that is on the street trying to get donation for their charity ( at least that iv'e seen ) , is a white guy ( sometimes girl ) with dreadlocks , and a questionable sense of style ( hippy is the closest i can think of )? I mean , is it too much to ask , that these people wear something normal when trying to convince the general population to help their cause or charity . Dress properly , and MAYBE , i'll listen to what you have to say , as it stands i wouldn't trust you with my pennies .

here is the funniest way to confuse a homeless person that asks for change. They are all over in my hometown. The look on their face is confusion, with a twist of anger after they figure it out.

Homeless person: Hey man, do you have any change.

Melook deep into their eyes) Change comes from within.

Homeless personLook of confusion) Um what are you talking about.

10 minutes later

Look back to see that they are pissed, lol.

I am sure you will find that hilarious should you find yourself homeless one day. Most people who lose their homes do not ever think that this could happen to them. Then bad things happen, health issues, job loss, reduced income, increased costs of living and they try to keep up but eventually sink after exhausting all their resources and get foreclosed on and evicted. Although I do not give money directly to the homeless that are asking for it, as I do not see that really helping them, as well as those cons out there that actually just panhandle for a living and are not really homeless to begin with. Instead I offer them resources and set them up with programs that can help them. Blankets, snacks, ready to eat meals, drinks, wipes and other useful items are also usually very appreciated.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I'd just like to say that the International Headquarters for the Salvation Army is a big fancy building, built on prime real-estate in the shadow of the St. Paul Cathedral in London and is basically the first thing you see getting of the Millennium Bridge. If I had to guess, the location itself must have cost in the millions. In addition, it has Bible verses written all over the windows.

So keep that in mind the next time your looking to donate somewhere.

Wow really? You don't even know what it's like to be one of the homeless they actually help out. Stop talking shit off your ass without a solid basis.

I've been homeless for a year and a half and Salvation Army is the best charitable institution out there with individuals who are intent on doing their best to help the homeless be off the streets with the already limited resources they have.

You want people to die by telling them to avoid Salvation Army when they're struggling in life? go ahead, but that doesn't change the fact as to how retarded your whole basis is.

I've seen the building myself. It's literally three blocks from the St. Paul's.
Maybe they'd have more resources if they chose a spot, I don't know, maybe a three blocks from the Thames instead of right on the bank. London is huge, there's more than just prime downtown.
If you still think I'm talking shit, look it up. The same Google maps street view image for their building also gives you a great view of the Cathedral.
Nothing about this real-estate is cheap. My estimate of millions is not hyperbole.

I'm sure their volunteers are great people, their higher-ups seem to have some priority issues.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I'd just like to say that the International Headquarters for the Salvation Army is a big fancy building, built on prime real-estate in the shadow of the St. Paul Cathedral in London and is basically the first thing you see getting of the Millennium Bridge. If I had to guess, the location itself must have cost in the millions. In addition, it has Bible verses written all over the windows.

So keep that in mind the next time your looking to donate somewhere.

Wow really? You don't even know what it's like to be one of the homeless they actually help out. Stop talking shit off your ass without a solid basis.

I've been homeless for a year and a half and Salvation Army is the best charitable institution out there with individuals who are intent on doing their best to help the homeless be off the streets with the already limited resources they have.

You want people to die by telling them to avoid Salvation Army when they're struggling in life? go ahead, but that doesn't change the fact as to how retarded your whole basis is.

I've seen the building myself. It's literally three blocks from the St. Paul's.
Maybe they'd have more resources if they chose a spot, I don't know, maybe a three blocks from the Thames instead of right on the bank. London is huge, there's more than just prime downtown.
If you still think I'm talking shit, look it up. The same Google maps street view image for their building also gives you a great view of the Cathedral.
Nothing about this real-estate is cheap. My estimate of millions is not hyperbole.

I'm sure their volunteers are great people, their higher-ups seem to have some priority issues.

I think you misunderstood. He doesn't care about the building, nor does he think they should be judged by a building vs the many lives they are helping worldwide. He is basically telling you that the building doesn't matter because they are a life saver to him and the many other people they are actually helping.

Complaining about a building < doing nothing to help solve the problems causing the despair < Fancy building < improving the lives of millions world wide.
Make sense now? Encouraging people not to dontate to those actually helping is worse than not helping at all. That is making the problem worse, not better.

Usually when they have fancy buildings, they are donated as well for that purpose. I know the food pantry building here was donated for them to use, as well in the agreement that they use the building, that the person who donated it would also be paying their utility bills so long as the fund exists. How do you know that isn't the case here as well? They actually save money here by being in this building than they would by relocating.

EDIT: Does the cathedral support the salvation army building there? As many churches do here as well? Now that I thought about it, the food pantry building here was actually an old church and was donated by the individual who bought the land and also paid to have the new church near it built. Since the salvation army building is near the cathedral could that be the case as well? That it only exists there because that cathedral is the one supporting it's existence?

 

[Johnson McGee]

A large sum (20-50% depending on a charity, 5% on a "great" ones) goes to administrative costs actually, which is kinda defeatist if half of your donation goes just to organize such donation. especially with the amount of volunteers (multiple times i saw people go off to volunteer in africa no less, asking for no pay, just food and shelter).

50% is excessive but there needs to be some amount going to administration in order to determine the best way to distribute aid. Especially when dealing with underdeveloped countries, charities have many operating costs but must deal with avoiding corruption at the local and national level as well as maximizing the benefit of their aid. Simply having someone go to volunteer in Africa can backfire if planned poorly as these free laborers can take up what few jobs are available to the locals and make the poverty even worse.

 

[Strazdas]

A large sum (20-50% depending on a charity, 5% on a "great" ones) goes to administrative costs actually, which is kinda defeatist if half of your donation goes just to organize such donation. especially with the amount of volunteers (multiple times i saw people go off to volunteer in africa no less, asking for no pay, just food and shelter).

50% is excessive but there needs to be some amount going to administration in order to determine the best way to distribute aid. Especially when dealing with underdeveloped countries, charities have many operating costs but must deal with avoiding corruption at the local and national level as well as maximizing the benefit of their aid. Simply having someone go to volunteer in Africa can backfire if planned poorly as these free laborers can take up what few jobs are available to the locals and make the poverty even worse.

In regular busienss, adminsitration costs are considered too high if they rise above 10% of companies income. If charities would use that it would be quite fine. However they abuse the fact that their income comes without any work put in. But yeah bribing the locals so they wouldnt maime them is costly i guess. after all what shaman would like being told that medicine and not gods cure ilness. Of course im over-saturating but such incidents do happen.
He went (and tool another guy from our guild too) with red cross and wasnt the first time he did it. he knew what he was doing.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?FromRec=1&keyword_list=habitat+for+humanity&Submit2=GO&bay=search.results
This also looks like a very good tool if you are volunteering as well.

Chrarity navigator is a good site, but it does only index the biggest charities and sometimes there are some much more deserving not so big charities out there, so dont rely only on it.
I think for something like charity trasnperancy is a must, without it im not even looking at you.

 

[Ratties]

All i want to know , is why is it , every person that is on the street trying to get donation for their charity ( at least that iv'e seen ) , is a white guy ( sometimes girl ) with dreadlocks , and a questionable sense of style ( hippy is the closest i can think of )? I mean , is it too much to ask , that these people wear something normal when trying to convince the general population to help their cause or charity . Dress properly , and MAYBE , i'll listen to what you have to say , as it stands i wouldn't trust you with my pennies .

here is the funniest way to confuse a homeless person that asks for change. They are all over in my hometown. The look on their face is confusion, with a twist of anger after they figure it out.

Homeless person: Hey man, do you have any change.

Melook deep into their eyes) Change comes from within.

Homeless personLook of confusion) Um what are you talking about.

10 minutes later

Look back to see that they are pissed, lol.

I am sure you will find that hilarious should you find yourself homeless one day. Most people who lose their homes do not ever think that this could happen to them. Then bad things happen, health issues, job loss, reduced income, increased costs of living and they try to keep up but eventually sink after exhausting all their resources and get foreclosed on and evicted. Although I do not give money directly to the homeless that are asking for it, as I do not see that really helping them, as well as those cons out there that actually just panhandle for a living and are not really homeless to begin with. Instead I offer them resources and set them up with programs that can help them. Blankets, snacks, ready to eat meals, drinks, wipes and other useful items are also usually very appreciated.

I don't believe in Karma. It doesn't exist. Bad stuff happens to people all the time because thats the way it is. Could I be homeless someday. Sure I could. Will it happen Because I am sarcastic to the homeless, no. It's not even a mean thing to say. Seems like you want justification for doing the right thing, which seems way worse than actually just doing it without jumping down peoples throats. You want me salute your efforts, there you go, congrats. You are doing more than most people, feel better now?