to think that if i had this sort of money i would spend it on my own DC education?

[ThatVikRinA22]

i am dumbfounded, and that doesnt happen very often.

i am bemused. i have no idea who these people are but today i got a begging letter from Villiers Park Educational Trust and i almost dont know where to start....i am however, reasonably or not, fucking enraged.

this letter. i hardly know where to begin, but i will try.
it starts by asking me this....

"how do you deal with the prospect of losing half your charitable funding, up on which, so many depend?"

well. i dont know. so tell me, dear charity....tell me....

so the letter goes on to explain that this letter is on "behalf of the hundreds of promising pupils, aged between 14 and 19, whose life chances are being substantially improved by villiers park...."

so now i hear you ask what does this charity do?

ill tell you. they "tackle what many business leaders regard as a major education problem with severe implications for the nations well being"

so i can hear you now straining to ask.....what major catastrophe is being avoided here....it must be good, especially as on the next of many pages they are asking for either "137.50 which is the cost of sponsoring a student" or £1650 which is the annual cost of putting one student through the programme" or £6500 which "will cover the entire cost for a student on the four year programme"....
it also states - (get this.....) "i understand from preliminary soundings that some people are considering a gift of £100, but others may be able to give more. One or two are looking into giving substantial amounts....it all helps.....

i bet it fucking well does.

so what is this worthwhile charidee that is asking for these vast sums....must be something bloody fanstastic i hear you cry.

ill tell you. it is 6 pages (yes - 6!! this is gold star begging and you dont just get one page like you do for those unworthwhile charidees like the NSPCC or RSPCA....oh no! this is worth far far more....) so as i was saying its 6 pages of pure unadulterated shit, all in the name of.....wait for it.....wait for it.....

"the only organisation dedicated to providing the long term support needed to get talented young people from deprived areas (that will be like mine then.....) into top universities they state in underlined and bold type that - and this is a genuine quote. "with 98% of participants get into university - proof of the effectiveness of our programmes" -

really? not proof of your appalling grammar then? (should it not say with 98% of participants getting into university....)?? all that money seems to have been wasted if they cant even get that right.....

yes im kind of enraged. because it is several layers of wasted paper, basically, begging for money for poor but brilliant children....(so - that would be like my own DS then who has autism but is a computer whizz....oh, no, hang on....because if i want him privately educated i have to pay for it myself, and since i cannot afford it, i dont, so why, why send me this????)
i am so annoyed by opening shite i actually feel like shitting in the envelope and sending it right back to them.....that could be my donation.

i may be unreasonable.
i may be irrational.
but im not fucking stupid!!!

rant over. but really....i am not being unreasonable am i? you should read this steaming pile of poop and then decide....

Take the name of head honcho, find their address on the electoral roll (role?), sign them up to all the Oxfam/waterside/sponsor a child/wwf websites...

Waterside? Water aid! Fecking autocorrect

I would open some more junk mail, shuffle it all about and then stuff envelopes randomly and write "opened in error, not known at this address" and then shove them back in the post.

As far as I know, it's an entirely legitimate charity and does exactly what it's told you (a couple of friends have worked for them) - supports young people in applying to university. They seem to have got your name and address by mistake - that sounds like it should have gone to a business.

Sorry for asking, but are you actually angry because you think that your DS is one of the young people who they should have offered support to? He's a computer whizz, isn't he?

I actually went on one of their courses when I was a teenager, I think it was a week long, subject-specific (a science) conference-type thing. They had a load of state school pupils and were doing lots of interesting talks/extension activities type of thing. It was really good!

But I think they wrote to my school and the school selected me, not sure if you can apply directly. Why don't you investigate what things they offer nowadays? Maybe your DS will be eligible for one of them.

I did go on to Oxbridge, FWIW, and I do now feel the same sense of irritation as you describe when my old college contact me to ask for money, 'only £100' or whatever.
I think, a) they have a vastly inflated idea of what I earn, and b) there are considerably more worthy charities around. But I would say Villiers Park is a better cause than a new rowing boat for an Oxbridge college though!

Or... I could just put the link to their website instead of my own bumbling explanation.

Seriously, it was really good. Like a nerd convention. What's not to like?

It was also the first time I'd met anyone else who was genuinely interested in the subject I loved. Which was an eye-opener.

That sounds like a really worthwhile charity, doing great things. I'm grateful to you for posting the link because I might well add them to the (smallish) list of good causes I support, I hadn't heard of them before.

I know it will be a struggle for us to get DS the funds he'll need to get through Uni when the time comes, but there are always people worse off. My general attitude is, when I can afford something that others cannot, I try to give a little, in proportion to my own expenditure, to give others a helping hand. Perhaps just 1% of what goes to DS I could send to help these other kids? I shall think about it.