Why I Don't Give to Summer Camp for Underprivileged Kids

4/22/2014 | Econjack

[oh8eleven]

Don't get me started on the Godfather of the charity world, the United Way.
I quit donating to them in 1980. I had donated $100 to the Vietnam Veterans of America, then got a note from the VVA thanking me for my $50 contribution.
I called UW and they said the VVA was "overfunded" and had sent my "extra" $50 where they wanted it to go. Eff them.
BTW, I was a member of the VVA, but quit that same year when I discovered half the vets in the VVA were not 'Nam vets. Another scam.

[Tennessee Nana]

In other words what have the kids ever done to earn them a vacation on me ???

I just tell them I agree children should have a summer vacation and that Im having to pay for my own to have one..

and since I have to I expect the parents of those kids to do the same..

[zerosix]

Yes. In fact the very next time they called to run their "benefit for 'the children,'" I said "and which agency are you calling for," and he hung up.

They did call back every year for a few years but finally quit calling.

[econjack]

I think most of us have had similar experiences. More than once I’ve been behind some using food stamps to buy cigarettes and alcohol, even though that’s supposed to be a no-no. I’ve also heard (not actually seen) of food stamps being traded for cash at $.20 on the dollar. Things like that just piss me off.

[glorgau]

Are there no poorhouses or prisons?

[MamaTexan]

Another “request” I don’t contribute to is the “school supply” drive.

Never gave to that one either, but the biggest gripe when my twins were small was the 'lists' given out for supplies. They were well in excess what a child would reasonably need, and it only took them going through kindergarten for me to see what a socialist scam it was.

After that, I sent the girls with the supplies I thought were reasonable along with a letter to the teacher(s) telling them to let me know what was lacking and that I would send it. I had no problem getting whatever supplies my children needed, but I couldn't afford to supply everyone elses.

[9YearLurker]

Good ideas!

[econjack]

I love returning this to them in their OWN postage paid envelop!! :)

Been there...done that...more than once. I'll bet AARP wonders who the clown is who returns a two-inch thick envelope of shredded paper.

[Sequoyah101]

BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!

I did about the same thing when a guy at church made a passionate appeal for a missionary trip to Nigeria and kids wanting money for a “missionary” trip to Belize.

I worked in Lagos and saw the missionary groups arrive there. The smart ones stayed in their hotels. Nigeria needs to want to help itself first.

Belize? for missionary work? Really?

Bull.

[Chickensoup]

Good essay. So true. I give to folks directly. No more nonprofit drama.

[Chickensoup]

, I spent about $500 for the two of us, but that’s about what it would cost for the two of us at Disney World.

________________________

For a day...

[moehoward]

"Another “request” I don’t contribute to is the “school supply” drive."

Around here they've rigged that this way. At the beginning of the year we get a list of school supplies. All supplies are pooled for the class. If a child wants his/her own colors/erasers/etc, they need to keep them hidden.

Given that the percentage of 'underprivileged' students in this school is almost nonexistent, the policy has little to do with actually providing for said students, and is more a form of 'wealth distribution' indoctrination.

[SamAdams76]

Wow, the cost of Scout camping has really gone up. I wonder if all the insurance they have to carry has to do with that. I went to Scout camps during the 1970s and I believe it was around $40 a week. We also had to supply our own gear like sleeping bags, jackknives, compasses, mosquito netting and whatnot but most boys back in the day already had those things anyway - even if they were second hand.

For that, we got archery, rifle range, swimming, canoeing, the works. Meals were served in a screened-in mess hall where we ate on long picnic benches and each troop had to take turns on mess duty.

I wonder what activities are allowed these days at Scout camp.

[verga]

I think most of us have had similar experiences. More than once I’ve been behind some using food stamps to buy cigarettes and alcohol, even though that’s supposed to be a no-no. I’ve also heard (not actually seen) of food stamps being traded for cash at $.20 on the dollar. Things like that just piss me off.

I worked at a Mom and Pop grocery store to pay my way thorough college. One day a kid a I graduated from high school with came in with a $20 food stamp and bought a can of soup. NYS said we had to give cash back as the change. He used the change to buy beer and cigarettes. That day I went from Republican to Conservative.

[nothingnew]

I mowed lawns, trimmed bushes and dug ditches for $0.85/hour. It did two things for me. I went to Scout camp and I decided there was a better way to make a living than digging ditches and I was going to college.

So YOU are the kid who always underbid me!

Joking aside, I worked the neighborhood for all kind of jobs, as a kid. My dad was a CPA and really explained to me the importance of making money and using it wisely. I miss him.

FMCDH(BITS)

[momtothree]

Our school started with the “send in all the supplies at once”. With child number 3, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I sent in what she needed like four pencils, two glue sticks, one box of crayons etc.. with her name written on it. I even wrote her name on the pencils. Then she kept track with what needed to be replaced. I was fooled one year and sent in the ten glue sticks only to have daughter #1 say within a week.. she was out. They were taken and put into a closet (and reserved for the kids that didn’t send any in). Fool me once...