Today I got this phone call, first at 8am, then again at 9am and then again at 11am, then again around 1ish. I didn't recognize the number so I let it ring and no voicemail was left - minor annoyance, if you're calling, leave a voicemail - I'll call back. Honestly at 8am and 9am on a Saturday, I didn't even hear the phone ring - I was sleeping. Around 1ish, I answered the phone without looking at the phone to see who was calling and it was some charity called something like Shelter for the Homeless wanting me to donate and my friend gave them my number - WTF? Besides I just paid my friend most of my money for all the work he's being doing for me lately, I don't donate to some place I've never heard of, whether or not, someone I know has. So then the guy goes on to tell me they have this other program that helps with donation to their cause - fresh organic angus beef, no steriods etc, for families of 2 or more...god, I had to listen to it..there is only me and I don't eat steak. The guy was nice and all but I was annoyed, annoyed enough that I remembered it all day long and annoyed enough to blog about it.
I don't like charities that call to get donations, I know that's how they get people to donate but if I want to donate to something, I will. If I want to volunteer my time for a good cause, I will. I will also research the organization to see what they do before I donate my money or time.
Another anoyance - charites that call for donations and you can't get them off the phone, so you agree and then they harass you constantly until they get the money and then call you year after year for other charities on their list...and they wonder why you don't want to donate a second time around and why you're annoyed with them for calling.
Shelter for the Homeless or maybe its this one Shelter Network - both seem like good causes
but lately I'm more into helping out West Oakland kids at The Crucible (had to put my plug in :) ) but at least I'm not giving out my friends names to be volunteers or donating their money.
My friends recently volunteered at a Homeless Shelter and I think got an eye opening experience on the sheer number of homeless people - women, kids, men, people and I guess they never really saw the problem before, I've been homeless, so I know about the issues, I've eaten at shelter - ick, to be honest. As for my friends and their causes, great donate believe in your cause but don't give out my number as a possible donee.
When I volunteered at the Crucible during Bike-Fix-A-Thon, I didn't realize how poor some of the kids were, that they would pull a bike out of a dumpster just to be able to have a bike, they didn't care that it didn't work all that great, but to just have a bike to ride was all they wanted. And the Earn a Bike program, where kids get to learn how to build a bike and then keep it, that's a cool idea - learn a skill and keep the bike they learned how to build, that's where my time and money are going these days.
1:02:47 AM 
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