Quote:
Originally Posted by oilngas
Food Banks, Poppy Day i.e. veteran's issues, and the Sally Ann.
The last is in response to my late Dad's experience in Halifax, upon return from North Atlantic Convoy duty WWII, in a destroyer, the only folks that greeted the ship was the Sally Ann, with mugs of tea and Coffee and kind words. Tough watching Allied Merchant Marines freeze to death in -4 degree water and burning bunker C, then turn around and do convoy duty again.
I'll never forget that conversation, from when I asked him why the Sally Ann was his Charity of choice.
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My Dad was in WW2 also, he had a great fondness for the Salvation Army for many similar reasons. According to him. they were the ones you saw on the front lines comforting soldiers and providing needed items. They got virtually no recognition in films, or the history books for all they did for soldiers in all the theatres of war.
He had an abiding and virulent hate of the Red Cross for their behaviour in WW2. They used Allied shipping to get donated care packages to Europe, then sold the contents to allied soldiers, both healthy and wounded ones. They also were accused of selling those supplies to the Nazis on the pretext of them going to prisoners of war. My Dad would go absolutely ballistic with Red Cross fund raisers.
I saw similar behaviour 40 years later in the floods in Slave Lake. We were lucky enough to not get flooded but I spent a great deal of time helping people who had lost everything try to get back on their feet. The Salvation Army showed up and helped anyone that walked through their doors, as did the Mennonites. No fan fare, no publicity. Red Cross showed up, put up huge tents, did a ton of interviews, but the paper work required to get any kind of help was mind boggling. They raised millions in donations fund raising for the flood victims, very little of it ever saw its way to Slave Lake and that is far from the first or last time that issue has surfaced with the Red Cross. They do have an exceptional PR and Lobbying arm and that is what keeps them going strong.
As far as getting hit up in restaurants and stores for donations, I give the clerk the stink eye and just don't answer. If they repeat the question my response in far from pleasant. It is avoidance training and it works. Places I go regularly no longer ask me that question.