To hate charity bag packers at supermarket checkout

[DameEdnasBridesmaid]

I want to pack my own bag.
I want to choose who I give my charity donations to not feel obliged.
I think they are a bloody nuisance.

Don't worry about it LRD. I think I am right, you think you are right, and whatever the lack of conditional subjunctive pluperfect gerund, plinth put my argument perfectly.
Plinth, have some .

Lying
as I said our packers aren't at every checkout. They don't presume or impose and in any case are only there for three hours twice a year. They don't presume people want their services or impose by grabbing bags.

People wouldn't donate to us in the normal scheme of things. People who access or services are handed a form to gift aid at the end when the evaluation paperwork is given to them. They take the form away and very occasionally donate if they can afford to but we don't expect it.

We're funded by the CCG and I spent hours of unpaid time writing our bid. Only 33 organisations out of over 200 were successful this year. If we lost our fundfing we have 6 months reserve so that vulnerable bereaved people don't have to end counselling suddenly.

X Posts Humble. I think you illustrate my point very well...

humble I get you. I just get so pissed off with people trying to 'help' me

cat, honestly, what I mostly think is that you're overreacting. You may be right for all I am my tiny little brain know, but I suspect my blood pressure is lower.

My daughter's class did several to help pay for their residential. Yes, parents can pay, as someone up thread said. We did. Quite a lot. But not the full cost - which I'm pretty sure was beyond some families. The children ran a range of events in the school and local community, but still needed to raise more so did bag packing. Nobody forces people to pay (although I agree that not all tills should have packers, it is generally very obvious that they are there and shoppers should be able to choose a packer-free till without making a big thing of it) but it is a good way of raising money in addition to other events.

And I made sure DD knew about bread/tins/cleaning stuff etc issues

Sorry, pressed post too quickly. I'd like to think therefore that people appreciate that we aren't some sort of aggressive chuggers out to pressurise people.

Plinth... Well, if everybody who doesn't agree with you is in league with the 'misery guts fairy', then what do you think?

I don't mind people opposing my view or anybody's view but I strongly object to them being labelled as anything. Since those people who do that like 'labels' and don't seem to understand other peoples' views, I thought I'd try one of my own...

ilove - you really don't sound aggressive at all, don't worry about it. The majority of people who do this, that I've come across, are pretty similar.

I'd just like to add that all our bag packers are adults, who are perfectly able to pack shopping sensibly (by and large) and we are collecting for a well established registered charity which benefits disabled children and adults.

If you still don't want to support us, a polite "no thanks" will suffice.

And fwiw I agree with collecting money for spurious far flung trips and the like. I went to an event once where the local pony club were fundraising. I didn't donate, but wasn't offended that they had asked

op We're you in asda yesterday ?

ilovesooty... So you're a charity? I'm not sure what CCG is but it sounds like it and I wouldn't have any problem with your being there, not at all and I would donate to you.

I don't see organisations like yours bag packing, not in my supermarkets anyway. The bag packers are for dance studios, trips here and there and sports equipment. The parents are generally in attendance and they can be quite pushy. The children are generally in the way and not interested.

I don't think that people who disagree with me are "thick"...

I do think that anyone who is offended at someone trying to help them (fgs!), giving up their own free time to be generally abused and thought badly of (if you believe posters on this thread) to raise money for charity....

is miserable.

Yes I do.

sooty, thank you. Thank you for dedicating yourself to something worthwhile and giving up your time. I wish more of us did. Can you name the charity on here? You might get some online donations, if you accept such things?

I've heard it all now. Charity collectors who have no issue being told no thank you are a pain in the arse.

Lets hope none of you ever need one of the charities they support. It is not just done by kids clubs.

School residential!

That makes my blood boil; bad enough blooming scouts, but schools should not be planning the kind of residential that their pupils families cannot afford and then expecting this sort of fundraising to subsidise it.

C'mon, only one person has said anyone is offended ... on a thread this long, that's not bad, surely?

Plinth... It's NOT helpful as far as I'm concerned. They're in the way and I can pack for myself. I don't mind donating to charity. I mean charity - not trips/IVF attempts/skydiving for whatever.

ilovesooty... Yes, agree with Catsize, can you do that?

Ok so I now getting that people have less of a problem with actual charities bag packing and more of a problem with the raising-funds-for-a-jolly issue?

So it's not bag packers who are the problem (except for the anally retentive packers) but spurious collections?

Still think a "no thanks" is really just the ticket here....

So say "no" Lying.

Why the angst?

I do not understand why the checkout operators do not do the bagging for you. They do that is Australia and it does not seem to slow them down. They scan, put in bag... No extra movements so no extra time.

plinth, if you read the thread, there's some suggestion a polite no is not really acceptable either.

Agree with hugo. The supermarkets are foolish to allow things like this. There have been a lot of complaints locally and it's under discussion at the moment. If anything, it will damage the possible charity activities as they would also be prevented access to supermarkets.

Yes Lying We're a registered charity staffed largely by volunteers.CCG is Clinical Commissioning Group formally local NHS. As the Chair of the Management Committee I put in hours of unpaid time because I believe in the service we provide. Our counsellors are unpaid, either student counsellors on placement or trained counsellors who want to give a bit extra. They are properly trained and supervised and this does cost.

Thanks for your kind words and for saying you would donate to us.

Not keen, although it depends what it's for and whether I'd ordinarily support it or not. E.g (apologies to scouting/guiding etc parents here), I'd rather not give to things to fund youth groups going on overseas trips, when we can't afford for my own kids to see their own family in the States year after year. If if was for ill kids or deprived kids, it's different, but not your average kid to have a trip. I think parents should pay for that really. Plenty of really life-changing charities to give to though and I prefer those that make a big difference to lives of people in real need.