Captain Tom's daughter

@Youngatheart00 yes- the husband appears to have got off awfully lightly

Jeez....

I rolled my eyes at the whole thing, as it was a cliche of feel-good tick boxes...

1. War "hero" (although I gather he only spent 5 years in the army, and much of that was either being trained or being a trainer)
2. Seemingly sweet elderly person. Awww.
3. Raising funds "for the NHS" (although he was actually raising money for NHS charities so so many people seemed to think he was raising money for the NHS itself)

He was walking around his garden as part of his physio plan post hip surgery from what I understand and I think they saw it as a money-making venture and capitalised on his Army background and age. I don't think he was exploited by his daughter, I think he wanted his 15mins of fame (like he did when he was on Blankety Blank 🙄). He was a salesman and businessman, his daughter similar, so their personalities are likely money driven. He only became a national treasure because of great advertising, great PR, the right contacts, and huge media backing.

Oh God you're right..

Thank you. I look for the Living Wage accreditation, which shows that employers are paying their own staff and that they are working with suppliers that do the same

Does anybody remember the Bargain Basement Tom? A lady who ran up and down stairs for charity?

Camila Batmanghelidjh? this is not an isolated case

that was all very odd.

And the UK charity commission has been highly criticised (often rightly) for failing to investigate misconduct - including Captain Tom saga.

@Darker I don't expect anyone to be paid peanuts and I don't believe transparency on salaries should be reserved for the charity sector either. Ideally, all employers should disclose pay, it would hugely benefit employees and customers - allowing them to make informed decisions where they spend their money. I am a business owner myself and fully transparent on finances. If you have nothing to hide, why fear it?

Same. Never liked her and felt ot was a scam.

Is it wrong that I kind of want to see the brochure?

This.

Shameful behaviour. Will they pass any of the £1.5 million profit from book sales on.....
The other money donated seems to be used by the too, swimming pool, extension etc.

Greedy vile woman

Right from the very start I was very cynical about this not because I thought they were taking money out of the charity which is very disgusting, but because I believe they had a lot of association with the Conservatives which it turns out there is some sort of network that the family had because it was taken away from what we believe was going on at the time with the conservative trying to make this a good news story.

When I said I was really cynical though and I didn’t buy into this the amount of abuse u got for saying that at the time was unreal but it’s been proven. I have been right..
But it seems to me that interesting at the same time this was going on. A few lads were doing something like camping in the garden. I can’t remember what they were doing for charity but they never ever managed to get any traction.
But as it happens, we now realise that the family were in PR so that makes a lot of sense

Captain Tom branded holidays?

wtaf?

Completely agree. The Irish charity here for Stillbirth and Neonatal death supported me and my dh after our baby twin sons died last year. They provided a coffin, memory boxes , photos and footprints and free counselling. We'd have nothing left of our boys without them as we were so numb to the world when it was all happening. Not all charities are self grabbing. But this charity is regulated and ran by families who lost children. There is accountability

Hannah Ingram-Moore is sure to turn up as a contestant on I’m a celebrity get me out of here at some point.

Indeed.

My charity funds health research into conditions that cost the taxpayer BILLIONS.

The quid pro quo for existence is really obvious. Quibbling about the below-market rate we're paid for doing it is massively missing the bigger picture.

(Funnily enough I've had a 12% pay bump recently when my role was evaluated against the whole sector for my job - this brings it up to the lowest end of the normal rate. It's a six figure role elsewhere, and I specifically chose not to apply for several such roles that I felt were an unethical use of my skillset.)

I had the misfortune of meeting them in person a year or so ago at a corporate event.

I got a bad vibe from the both of them, however what I will say is that from memory, her husband seemed to be pushing the agenda. Hannah is not innocent by any means and is totally culpable, but I do wonder whether there was an element of encouragement verging on control from her husband, who has been able to remain in the background.

I only had a short chat as I felt uncomfortable with the glee with which they were talking about their plans and the shameless way they wanted to exploit ‘the captain tom brand’, from books, mugs and gin, they also spoke of Captain Tom branded holidays and at that point I politely introduced them to an unsuspecting colleague and moved on!

Quite. And donations of physical items, while useful in some types of charity work, are actively unhelpful sometimes. There was someone on here the other week complaining that Social Services hadn't accepted their used pram to give to a teenage mother instead of buying new, for example.

Same here. Didn't like it from the start.

Giving direct works to a point but only on a fairly simple level.

Giving a homeless person a meal will help stave off hunger but it won’t get them into accommodation or help them to address the trauma, addiction problems etc that they need to address to thrive. For that you do need charities or statutory services.

And this is the charities justification for a low % of turnover going to good works. From my other post - if you can give your charity donation goods directly to someone who needs them there is a much more effective outcome. (e.g. blankets to animal shelters).

Salvation Army is a Christian organisation https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/our-faith

I believe they have a very good name for actually rolling up their sleeves, doing useful things and practical help

I think that there are 2 lessons to take from the discussion:

1. If you want all your donation to go to a good cause - roll your sleeves up and get involved yourself. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to work for a charity, 2 examples might be:

Give a street sleeper a meal deal that you just bought from a supermarket.

Give an Animal Shelter your old bedding, blankets, and throws. They need vast quantities for the animal beds as it doesn't last long.

2. Like it or not a lot of bigger charity work can only be done by corporate style organisations with skills, expertise, technology, but also the attendant overheads (think drug companies, hospices, medical research, Samaritans, Macmillan).

Agree. A lot of people view charity shops as a way to get rid of things they no longer want, without feeling guilty. My main priority is for it to be out of my way.

Which is fine when you're giving decent stuff, and I try to make sure I am. But let's be honest, any charity shop worker will tell you there's a section of the general public who view it as a glorified free waste disposal. Some of whom expect gratitude to be shown to them while they do it!