To be proud of DS over this (warning, naughty parent/Operation CHristmas CHild-related)

[SolidGoldYESBROKEMYSPACEBAR]

Ds is 8 and his school will persist in the poxy Samaritans' Purse appeal though I have written and complained at least twice (if you don't already know, it's a racist rightwing evangelical organisation, culturally insensitive, despised by most aid charities and a waste of resources.). I have never contributed to it and never will, and have explained to DS that it's a bad organisation run by bad people, and that good people (like those at his school) don't always understand that sometimes bad people pretend to be good...

Anyway, today, according to DS, one of the teachers asked the DC to guess how many shoeboxes they were going to get this year/how many they hoped for. DS raised his hand and said...... 'ZERO'

That's m'boooy!

Rhubarb, I found it impossible to donate to a refuge too. I emailed any I could find but nobody replied, I asked the HV the GP and the police but to no avail. I must come across as a nutty exp.

Ecolady, I'm really pleased that you found the Backpack project after I mentioned it - such a great charity and one that I found on MN when ds's school asked me to suggest alternatives to OCC and Samaritan's Purse. How daft of me not to put a link in my earlier post, I'm really grateful you looked it up.

I hope all the rather confused people who seem to think legitimate criticism of OCC and Samaritan's purse is someone anti-Christian, please do look at Mary's Meals. There are plenty of Christian charities that, like Mary's Meals, are entirely ethical and that give stuff that actually helps people in need.

Yep. Mary's Meals explicitly state in their value statement that they respect every individual and their beliefs and will never try to change the beliefs of those they offer assistance to.

I would happily donate to them and am in fact trying to get DD's school to do so :)

queen, ds's school did Mary's Meals Backpack project a couple of years ago - the kids loved it and we heard that the children in Malawi were just as happy. I'd heartily encourage other schools to get involved. It's great for inclusion as you don't have to provide a whole bunch of stuff, if all you can afford to contribute is a ruler or a pair of flipflops, Mary's Meals will put them together with other contributions to fill a backpack that enables a child to go to school.

But other people will have their favourite charities and there are tons of good causes out there. Just that Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child are NOT amongst them.

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/truth-statement

I am amazed that this pointless thread has continued to run and run. I am amazed at this 'feeding frenzy', the wild accusations being made (none of which can be substantiated) and the amazing work that one charity does being dragged down into the dirt by a few narrow-minded people who seemingly have only one objective in mind; to spread their poison and deprive millions of needy children around the world from knowing that someone cares for them, that they are loved at Christmas - the season of goodwill? If there is anyone left with an open mind, do your own research. Contact the charity, look at their website, get hold of their materials, what do they say? Don't write them off because a few mean-spirited people, supposedly mothers of children, would deny the poorest of the poor receiving presents at Christmas.

I am satisfied that Samaritan's Purse do not push their Christian beliefs onto anyone. From what I have seen and now know, they don't even give out the boxes, it's the local churches overseas who do that. I have seen their videos, all I see are happy, excited children receiving shoeboxes packed with gifts. Some get given a booklet with their shoebox, but not all. They don't have to attend classes or sign pledges to get their shoeboxes either. These are free gifts, no strings attached! And so what if churches giving out shoeboxes invite children to attend church; our local church here does that; we just had them come to our school inviting children to come to the church on Hallowe'en for a party....shame on them! LOL

I particularly like the fact that Samaritan's Purse leaves it to the churches to reach children in their communities. Our meanie Mums would probably disagree but I like to think we can trust churches to do the right thing. If they didn't use churches I'd be worried about corruption.

So give them a break, I believe they are genuinely involved in helping to make things better for so many children overseas, through the churches. I don't see or hear any of them complaining!

YAr yar yar Katie did you read any of the links?

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Sooooo obviously not. You getting a wage from them or just wilfully trying to divert the thread?

I'll give somone a break the day they denounce spending charity money on campaigning against gay marriage. But .... blah ... whatever

Good for your ds, SGB.

Katie - you are either terribly naive or personally linked to OCC.

They are the most appalling, bigoted crooks.

This will likely be my last post on Mumsnet; read it while you can, it appears I am not welcome here, because I am a supporter of Operation Christmas Child. I do not work for the charity; I am a teacher supposedly working in a primary school, although it could be a charity given the pittance I am being paid for the work that I do! But that's my choice, I love my work and I consider it a real privilege being part of helping children grow and develop into young adults.

We do the shoeboxes every year and the children absolutely love it, this year is no exception. I joined Mumsnet a few years ago because a friend at the school then told me of some bad things she had heard about the charity. Seeing what other mums were saying about the programme was a real concern to me; I wouldn't want my children or any other children at the school being led astray. So I did my homework, I checked out what I was hearing both at Samaritan's Purse but also in a place where volunteers were checking the boxes. I was satisfied that everything was above board, that there were people who had an issue with this programme being run by Christians and that's the only reason I come on here to tell people that. It seems those in charge like to have long threads running for days; people like me who don't go with the flow aren't welcome. So goodbye Mumsnet, nothing is what it seems, certainly not on here.

For the record, my posts contain:

?No personal attacks
?No posts that break the law
?No trolling, goading or misleading
?No trollhunting
?No spamming

So why are they being deleted by Mumsnet?

If anyone is guilty of misleading people on the shoebox programme it certainly isn't me! And that's the truth!

Goodbye again!

'I am a teacher supposedly working in a primary school, although it could be a charity given the pittance I am being paid for the work that I do'

Whereas I'm really a teacher. As in, in real life. We don't get paid a pittance.

'I joined Mumsnet a few years ago because a friend at the school then told me of some bad things she had heard about the charity'

What sort of things?

Islamophobia, homophobia, dishonesty, financial corruption, reputable charities hastening to distance themselves?

That sort of thing?

Be careful, RavenAK, your post could be considered a personal attack although, because it's against me, I doubt they'll remove it.

I am paid enough, I am not complaining but I get paid for less than half the hours I actually work, that's the point I was trying to make!

And yes, she told me some of those things. And yes, I was very worried. But instead of coming on here and repeating what I had heard, I checked things out, I looked at what they were being accused of and the things they were reported to have said - in context and in full. Can I encourage you and others to do the same? I think you'd sleep a lot easier in your beds knowing the truth, if it's the truth you actually want! I doubt this post will be here in the morning, so I hope you see it! Katie x

Katie, I don't think you could construe raven's post as being a, "personal attack" exactly though she is obviously addressing you. For my part I have commented a couple of times and have also started to do my own, "checking out" and I have now found evidence of Islamophobia, homophobia, dishonesty and financial corruption. The only thing I have yet to find any real evidence of is, "reputable charities hastening to distance themselves". When I first came onto this thread I was of the opinion that they were just another Christian charitable organisation like many others and couldn't understand why people were so against them but I have today declined an invitation to contribute and stated my reasons why in a polite, considered but firm manner. (Though I still take a very dim view of the way OP's DS expressed himself in class ) I thank those on this thread for bringing this to my attention.

Hi Frantic (is that what I call you?!), I heard those accusations too, but haven't found any evidence. Would be good to know what you have found out and, most importantly, your sources. I say that because we had a parent come to our school citing what she had received from some secular society, blindly accepting what they were saying and making many of the same claims. I asked her what she would have our children learn instead. Denying Judeo Christian values, which have shaped much of our culture, and pushing their God-less agenda is as bad as what Samaritan's Purse are being accused of doing! Katie

Hi frantic have you got any links for the evidence as I think I will write to our school next week about my concerns.

Katie, some of the evidence has already been posted on this thread but you haven't taken any notice of it so if you think I am going to be gullible enough, at this late hour, to post more links you are sadly deluded as to the importance of your opinion to me or many others.

I am sorry but I think you have an agenda and I have no wish to engage further with you. I am a practising Christian and, as such, I have no problem with people speaking about Jesus and expressing their faith BUT, in the true spirit of, "loving my neighbour as myself", I have no problem with followers of other faiths doing the same or, indeed of those of no faith speaking of their lack of belief, as long as everyone treats others with consideration and respect. I will have nothing to do with any organisation whose leader expresses intolerance in the manner that this Graham chap does. It flies in the face of everything I believe in and has absolutely NO bearing on the, "Judeo Christian values" I was brought up with!

You said, several posts ago, that you were leaving the thread; might I respectfully suggest that you do just that, as I am too.

Right. Have now read more of the thread and seen lots of links. Will do some reading tomorrow.

twofalls this is a good document drawn up by a Canadian church which contains a sample letter to show concern though you'd have to, "Anglicise" it of course. hth

Thanks frantic.

Oh, getting a google accounts invalid page from that link.

Sorry twofalls so am I this morning. I got to it by googling "OCCalert" if that's any help

I can help with the 'reputable charities distancing themselves' - Oxfam & various other rather more respectable organisations decided at least 6 years ago to have no more to do with OCC.

Pretty sure the link's already on this thread, but if not it's googleable.

I'm an atheist, but I know an awful lot of Christians who feel as frantic does about OCC - including my colleague, who used to organise the shoebox appeal at my school. We support real charities now, I'm pleased to say.

Sorry OP, this is completely unfair to all the good work the charity does; religious affiliation or not. Think yourself fortunate to be in the position you are before judging much of the good work undertaken by OCC.

chaoscarriesonagain can I invite you to read the thread ?

OCC does a lot of underhand spreading of propaganda, is not a reputable charity and is widely regarded by many as an appalling excuse for a 'charity'.

The fact that children get a few donated gifts does not compensate for that.

WTF is with all these Chaos names? They can't all be the Multiple Posting One.
Very confusing.

And yes, RTFT.