Re: Why we give?
 

I only use the RSPCA as an example of a charity gone beyond its original remit..i.e. to prevent cruelty to animals (rsPCA)..yet now stick their oar in many political arguments yet refuse to take in strays and redirect you to the local dogwarden, or as you say a rescue centre. Kinda like HBC debating an area of Asia but refusing to engage on the provision of benches outside the town hall. Delusions of grandeur and totally lost their focus.

As for charity shops...back in the day, they were called second hand shops, usually on the back streets of the town centre, and is yet another example of how the rise of charities has destroyed jobs in the private sector, you would be hard pressed to find a second hand shop in this day and age that could compete with charities that have doorstep collections, volunteer staff, tax and rate break high street shops and TV advertising.

Re: Why we give?
 

Unfortunately Margaret you are not alone in experiencing poverty in the past. I too grew up in poverty but luckily enough it wasn't until I grew older and wiser that I recognised what poverty was. Yet in growing older I believe I was a better person for it.

Re: Why we give?
 

The R.S.P.C.A. spend too much money on fancy uniforms and new vehicles than on the welfare of the animals

Re: Why we give?
 

I think you are right. Although I think it might have been easier to be poor back then......there wasn't the same peer pressure. We were all in the same boat.
It certainly taught me a lot of lessons which have helped mi in my life.
I can make do and mend, I can make a decent meal out of leftovers.
I am careful with money.....these are things that you don't learn in school.

Re: Why we give?
 

Yes..They're not on their own.
I won't get started on TV advertisements. Adverts that beg for my money-as far as I am concerned, the causes already have my money.

It's on a differing note but one thing that annoys me is how expensive charity shops now are, compared to years past.

Handy skills I agree. I'm amazed by the amount of peers I have that possess none of them, can't sew on a button or cook properly :)

Why we give?
 

Got to admit, I'm part of the can cook can't be arsed' brigade, unless I'm fortunate enough to get a bit of road kill.

Re: Why we give?
 

Sunflower, that is a big problem...but it maybe because their mother/grandmother never showed them how to do these things.
We cannot blame them for not knowing how to do these things...except I was taught that once you find a gap in your knowledge/skills, it is your responsibility to make sure you do something about it.
I still try to follow that maxim....and today with the internet and Youtube as a teacher, there is little excuse to stay clueless.

Re: Why we give?
 

I can undertsand that too Less. If I lived alone I would starve.
I cook for others(himself, the tinlids,Ma...Nicola, Jim next door) much more that I would ever do for myself.

I think that fit single people should band together and form some sort of meal club.

Why we give?
 

I wholeheartedly agree, sometimes when you get a 16stone ex rugby player that died in a traffic accident, you waste more than you eat!
;)

Re: Why we give?
 

The RSPCA were established in 1824 as the SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Royal patronage follwed in 1837 and Queen Victoria gave permission to add the 'royal R' in 1840, making them the RSPCA as their more commonly known today.
The Queen is patron of more than 620 charities and organisations.
As much as I dislike the royals,she's done quite a bit for charity in this country so I say good on her.
But lets not forget she is kept by the taxpayer and there are folk that do much more valuable work for charity than the royals, and they don't get reports/articles in the media trumpeting about their work.

Re: Why we give?
 

I didn't realise that there were that many of them killed along the main drag in Accy:)...still you live and lear...well, most of us do!

Re: Why we give?
 

Our peg went missing over a week ago while walking the dog, I'm not bothered about the Mrs but there's a reward for the safe return of the dog.
I rang greenbank they said I should "expect the worse" :eek:
So this morning I've been down age concern and got all her stuff back :)

Re: Why we give?
 

Yes, Margaret, I think many of us were in the same boat as far as the small amount of money there was in 'those' days. I have no idea how my mother managed in the way she did, always making sure we had sufficient food - have a feeling that she must have very quietly gone without a lot of things herself to make this happen. Never complained. There was never any spare cash to waste but we accepted that as being the way it was.

Such a different concept of money these days - some Smart Alec has come up with a suggestion that kids should be paid 25 cents a day (from the Government, therefore from the taxpayer) as a payment/reward if they eat more vegetables and fruit at school. One young student (looked about 10) was asked if he would do this and his reply was 'for 25 cents, I don't think so!'

Re: Why we give?
 

"Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end" Robert Marley.

Re: Why we give?
 

No, money will not make you happy....it just buys you a better class of misery.
Happiness is a very personal thing. Obviously you need to have some money, there is no happiness if you cannot pay your way.
Despite having very little money when I was growing up, I believe I had a very rich childhood. My parents gave us their time.....we played silly board games.....we listened to radio programs in the firelight, drinking cocoa and eating toast cooked on the coals.
We went fishing for sticklebacks with improvised fishing nets, we picked blackberries, we picked flowers....we slept out in home made tents.