To think people should pay for their wn holidays/fun experiences?

[BrawToken]

So many people I know want sponsorship for walking in the Highlands/jumping out a plane/walking through town overnight in their bra.

I remember sponsored walks used to the domain of kids raising money for scouts and the local hospice, but now we are expected to cough up for loads of, what seems to me, other peoples' fun.

I give to charities already, both with time and money and I haven't got spare tenners to chuck around. I feel guilted into coughing up, but when I do, my own kids miss out.

Don't make your family go without, just say no

I can't imagine that anyone expects donations for people who can't afford it, especially if it would involve their children missing out on things.

It's hard work raising money for charity - fair dos to people who do. I don't begrudge them it, but then don't give if i can't afford it.

I agree and disagree

• I agree that asking for sponsorship can be like asking someone else to pay your entrance fee to an event you want to do anyway. So when I raise money for charity, I don't just "ask" people, I provide something eg a curry night or a quiz, so that it is me making the effort and not simply begging (of course, many people are very generous and give more than I have asked but I am not expecting that.)

• IKWYM about giving already: I have chosen my favourite charities and give monthly sums, and don't want to be guilt tripped into giving to one I don't particularly care for just because somebody else wants to run a 10k.

BUT giving is a good thing, and charity runs etc increase the health of the population AND prompt many into giving more than they would have otherwise.

It must be awful though if you are giving sums that you can't easily afford and effectively taking away from your DC. I sympathise.

So, YANBU but collecting for charity is not the worst thing in the world other people could be doing and perhaps you can just explain that you have already sorted your giving for the year, with an amount and destination with which you feel comfortable, when you are asked for sponsorship by an adult.

Forgotten I'd started this! Yes, I was being a little grumpy, but had just had a few people badgering me for sponsorship money and we are broke after my dp being made redundant recently. He's working again, but we're still recovering from the 6 months it took him to find work.

I agree with you. I've taken part in a couple of charity events, because I wanted the experience, and rather than go around hassling my friends, just paid the sponsorship element myself (some of them have like £300 entry fees which you are meant to raise in sponsorship).

YANBU particularly as some pharmaceutical companies are now choosing not to develop certain drugs because they are too expensive - IMHO I would like to see the charities making a stance on this, rather than concentrating on becoming self sustaining units.

(I prefer supporting smaller charities anyway).

I do actually agree: I have noticed that if you tell those friends that you were so touched by their appeal that you sent a large cheque off straight to the charity, they don't look very grateful.

Or those collection for sending teens to the other side of the world to spend a year building houses or something- as if there were no people capable of doing a job or needing a job in those countries.

cory that is very telling. I suspect if someone truly believed in their cause (eg were raising money for a charity to do with a departed relative) rather than wanting to run the marathon/ swim lake Geneva/ cycle round Vietnam/ whatever then they would be delighted however you gave. Those are the requests for sponsorship that I always give to generously.

Cory, I love your response. Must try that next time someone asks me to sponsor them to walk the Great Wall of China.