Topic: Charity..to give or not to give?

[Froglegs]

It would have been nice to asked first don't ya think.  I wonder how many were to embarrassed or had a nice (pi$$ed in Nottingham) afterglow to refuse.

[powerspade]

Personaly I would refuse the bill and ask for a new one without any donation to a `charity` Dont get me wrong I donate to certain charities of my choice
ie breast cancer ( because my wife died from it)
also I give tins of food to help those who find themsleves live rough
and various others. I deem it my choice and dont like the way some people try to dictate to whom and what I give my money

[Emagggie]

Don't know about the legal side of things, and don't feel inclined to go back to find out, but I will ask any of the others if they know about it. For all I know they may have just handed over their share of the bill without even being aware. I sat next to the person who was given the bill.

My point exactly Powerspade.

[Baccy Man]

The scheme is run by a charity called STREETSMART, the scheme has been running throughout England, Scotland & a couple of towns in Wales for 4 years now. In Southend specifically the money raised goes to a charity called Homeless Action Resource Project.
It is supposed to be voluntary contributions & all participating restaurants are supposed to make it very clear what they are trying to raise money for then give diners the option of contributing or not either by putting details on a tablecard or making a clear reference to the scheme on the menu. It is supposed to be a £1 donation per table not per diner & people are supposed to be given the option of contributing more if they choose to do so when they pay the bill.

There is a newspaper article on it here:
http://www.southendstandard.co.uk/news/southend/4776025.Low_budget_nutrition/

The STREETSMART site is here:
http://www.streetsmart.org.uk

Southends Homeless Action Resource Project website is here:
http://www.harpsouthend.co.uk/

Given that the restaurant in question clearly broke the rules set by the charity namely by adding £1 per diner rather than per table & by adding the donation without making people fully aware of it then I would be inclined to contact the charity & let them know which restaurant is doing this as it reflects badly on the charity as well as the restaurant.

[betula]

Surely when presented with the bill you can just say no.  :-\

Does it really matter??

Trading standards...... ::) ::) ::)I doubt they are  collecting without some sort of permission.

Worse things than being homeless??Sure ........would not like to try it for myself.

We all have our faves when it comes to charity but that does not mean others are not deserving.

[Flighty]

Baccy Man many thanks for that!

[betula]

Yes lets get em into big trouble...........I give up  >:(

[Baccy Man]

Yes lets get em into big trouble...........I give up  >:(

It has nothing to do with getting the restaurant in trouble it is about making sure the money raised is collected in a way that the charity is happy with, they can speak to the restaurant & clarify how they expect money to be collected.
If anyone uses underhanded methods to collect money for any charity it reflects very badly on that charity & people may choose not to support them in the future. Putting a bit of literature on display & asking people if they want to donate is not exactly hard & would draw more positive attention to the charity, most people would probably still contribute if they were aware they were doing so.

[betula]

Well I don't know about other people but I check my restaurant bill.

If I disagree with something I query it.

It is probably a misunderstanding of how the charity wants things done.

[Borlotti]

I just gave a man in the street £2, he asked for a £1, for a meal. Then he said could I give £5 or £10.  Meet him again on the way back from tennis and he was quite threatening, asked for a £1 and I said I had already given him £2.  Went into a shop to get away from him and then saw him approaching everyone at the bus stop.  Then my daughter came in and said she had been approached by him and was a bit worried.  Didn't admit that I gave him money the first time.  He had very red blood shot eyes, not sure if it was drink or mental problems.  I would gladly give in a restaurant £1 a table, but they should ask you first and tell you the charity it is going to.

[flowerofshona2007]

The worrying part about this is there was no notices about the charity ect, is the restaurant giving this money to the charity ????? There are many that use tips to pay the staffs wages and i would just be worried that the money collected is going to the people who need it  ???

[Sinbad7]

If the restaurant isn't playing by the Charity rules, how does anyone know if they send the £1 per head that they collect to the Charity ???

[lewic]

Having been homeless once myself and worked at the Big Issue for a while, I think it is very deserving cause, and I wouldnt mind paying a quid extra on a meal. Yes they should state it upfront though and not embarass people into paying up.

I sometimes give beggars money or food, but not ones who pester or work in gangs and shove their (or someone elses) baby in your face to get sympathy. These are far and few between though, most beggars are very timid and have just fallen on hard times, are addicts or have mental problems.

There by the grace of God etc..

[Sinbad7]

I don't think anyone here is objecting to giving to the homeless just the way it was done by this restaurant.

As I said I think we should have the choice be it 10p or a £1 which Charity we give it to.

[Emagggie]

Thanks for the info Baccyman. I certainly wont be reporting anyone at all. I wouldn't dream of causing trouble over something like this as I don't think for one minute the restaurant is dishonest, but they certainly made no mention of it until the final bill.
Daughter said she was billed £2 extra for the same charity at a Jamie Oliver restaurant a while back, and as there were only two of them I assume that's £1 a head.

[caroline7758]

Thanks, Baccyman, I'd read about this scheme in Leeds but couldn't remember what it was called.

Having worked on a project helping homeless people, some of them choose to be on the street, but most don't.

[Old bird]

I accept that some, probably most, of the homeless people do not choose to be homeless but they have made choices in their life that causes them to be homeless.

I do not have any problem with anyone collecting money for them but do when it is, like you have said, added it to a bill or whatever.  A lot of people are not very brave and would have difficulty in saying - actually no I don't want to donate this money to homeless people.   I know I certainly am not likely to be embarrassed or you Betula into saying something - but as you well know there are many that wouldn't dare say anything.

O B

[emmy1978]

The worrying part about this is there was no notices about the charity ect, is the restaurant giving this money to the charity ????? There are many that use tips to pay the staffs wages and i would just be worried that the money collected is going to the people who need it  ???

Indeed. In fact restaurants should look after their staff first-the last place I worked had nearly £1000 in credit card tips ready to be shared out between the staff. Needless to say we never saw it. If you want to  tip, do it discreetly in cash.  ;D

[skintnbitter]

I work for a large charity in Leeds and we certainly would not use the same tactics as the restaurant or knowing be involved as this would reflect badly.

I work in Leeds city centre and it can be quite a pain in the bum as you are constantly been harassed while walking down the street by people trying to get you sign up and donate.  

I once came across quite an aggressive young man who kept blocking my path and tried to bully me into signing up. Just to add insult to injury the charity he was working for was to help battered women!

I have also stood and watch one of the Charity's for the blind hassle a pensioner to donate who obviously had a sight problem due to his white stick.

What is the world coming too?

[OllieC]

Ah, I'm with you on Charity Muggers (or chuggers as they're known) - not least because of the amount of money that goes to the collectors instead of the cause. I also think they intimidate a lot of people & are a nuisance. Why do charities use them? Because they work.

WWF is just down the road from here & interestingly don't get chuggers to work on their behalf nearby (I have an allotment neighbour who works there & told me this). They do use them elsewhere in the UK though... So they know what a pain they are!