To hate Children in Need?

[Runny]

I probably am because it raises money for such good causes, but I find the whole television spectical really toe curlingly awful to watch.Every year it's the same old, the BBC newsreaders doing an 'hilarious' song and dance skit, the cast of Eastenders having a sing song and an endless stream of insincere celebrities who are only taking part to make themselves look good.

I really want to like it, but just can't. On the other hand I love Comic Relief and look foreward to that. CiN just leaves me cold.

It's such a shouty programme, too noisy for my old ears.

I don't like these sort of programmes. They're there to guilt tripping us unto donating, and whilst some of the money goes to very good causes, their overheads must be huge! I'd much rather give to smaller charities that are mostly lead by volunteers and are much more personal (my DD is a member of one due to a condition she has, and they really do change lives thanks go wonderful volunteers). I think that CIN do have a place, but something about it leaves me cold.

Nicked this from twitter cos it sums up my thoughts exactly:

Let's spend the £205billion on making sure there are no more Children In Need, and let the slebs raise funds for 'Trident In Need' instead.

I don't give to children in need. I don't like the celebrity connections. Bob Gedolf being a non dom for tax avoidance totally sickened me. So I don't give to celebrity promoted charities now.

it's just such a circus. It's not interesting, the pieces about the causes are all gratuitous rather than insightful. It's poverty/illness porn!

I have found my people!

I have hated these kinds of things ever since BandAid and thought it was only me!

Anyone else do the BandAid 24hr sponsored starvation thing?

I remember handing over my sheet and money and getting a "Oh, you didn't raise very much for those poor people did you?" from one teacher (we were very poor growing up so every penny counted and most of my lovely neighbours who sponsored me were pensioners). Queue major guilt trip and me crying. Luckily another teacher (Mr C) hugged me and said out loud "Well if Bob and Midge gave up their cheques for a couple of months or sold a holiday home we wouldn't have to ask the kids to beg for money would we?".

That stuck with me ever since. God bless you Mr C, wherever you may be!

I'm as poor as crap but I will give spare change if I see someone with a collection tin for a charity close to my heart but all those gurning twuntfunsters celebs on the telly who do these charity events and plead with people to "just donate a pound" just make my palms itch.

Well done for "giving your time" and promoting yourself. Now how about you all, live on air, donate a months salary or sell off one of those classic cars in your lovely posh heat controlled garage instead of making me feel crap because I can't "just donate a pound..."

I have kitties to feed! A pound coin can go a long for kitty noms! sets up Kitty Aid with just videos of kitties to watch

How very sad that so many posters on here have missed the point. It's a damn good reason to raise some cash for very worthy children's charities. Would you rather nothIng is done to help these charities? I'm quite embarrassed by some of the views on here, so very cynical and self centredness at its best.

Anyone see the news about Buck House today.

I recckon their PR dept must have been asleep.

Chocness have you missed the point that it's possible to not only donate directly to said charities, but also possible for people who find CIN grotesque to work directly for/with the charities

It's not a binary choice: CIN or no charity donations

I'd love to know the fees the celebrities get, how much is spent on admin and how much the charities actually get at the end.

I give my money directly to two local hospices which I think is a much better way of donating.

I feel ashamed to be in a country which is now spending hundreds of millions in repairing Buckingham Palace (for one of the richest families in the world) and yet has to hold the begging bowl out for children in need. It's like some third world dictatorship.

Chocness have you missed the point that it's possible to not only donate directly to said charities, but also possible for people who find CIN grotesque to work directly for/with the charities

That doesn't happen in all cases though. The fact there is millions raised shows people don't donate enough directly. If everyone did then CIN etc would be defunct as everyone would just donate direct

err I think it is Yuck. Many of the hospices are 100% funded by CIN so no CIN, no donations = No hospice.

I'd love to know the fees the celebrities get

Nothing I hope! Surely they do it for free??

Same here viviennemary. It's appalling, maybe we should have a referendum on the royal family!!!! I'm not sure I could bear to be around for the result of that!!!

Let's hope none of you 'haters' or your families ever need to access services funded by CIN as you hate it all so much....

Chocness

I'm embarrassed that year upon year everyday normal peeps are asked to raise more and more money to help charities instead of our Government using tax payers cash to help them (they cannot afford to help to poor/ ill etc but they can afford Trident).

I'm embarrassed that some celebs on these shows most probably live abroad to avoid paying UK taxes or pay their accountants to find tax loopholes for them so they pay less tax that could be used to help those charities.

I'm embarrassed that some celebs are sitting on a mountain of money and pretty shiny things but still plead to people with hardly any pennies to rub together to "give give give".

All the above make me very sad as well. :(

err I think it is Yuck. Many of the hospices are 100% funded by CIN so no CIN, no donations = No hospice

Not all charities are funded by CIN!

Viviennemary what you said! I couldnt agree more!

I avoid CiN and CR and get very annoyed at the likes of Bono telling me to buy a charity record when he earned nearly £200 million last year! Sell a yacht mate!

YANBU i cant stand it and never watch it although i do donate to it when i have spare money to do so. It is for a good cause even if the show is awful beyond belief!

Do people who hate CIN think that similar amounts of money would be raised without such programmes?

So many small charities would not be able to survive without grants they receive from things like CIN, they just don't have the means.

Yes in a perfect world we wouldn't need such charities, but unfortunately we do.

I help run a local youth group, we have to maintain a buffer in our accounts. Fundraising is very hard and we have benefited from grants from larger charitable organisations.

CIN pay their admin costs out of the interest earned on their investments so that donations are not used for that purpose.

It's charity. It isn't compulsory you sour faced twats.

It is utterly unavoidable! Charity isn't "charity" if it's not optional.

And the people I know who are having a gush fest about it right now are the least likely to be involved in anything charitable at any other time of the year so they can have their little smug-fest tonight and then go back to having no social conscience in anything else they do..

Who the fuck takes the time to comment that its all just a bit too 'shouty' and 'glitzy'

Is it compulsary to like it?

Why have you taken the time to come onto a thread about not liking it? why don't you go and watch it? nobody's stopping you?

Cuts to disability allowance, bedroom tax for disabled people, and yet these hundreds of millions spent on the royals and all those celebs fawning over them to get their pathetic CBE's. They make me sick. Sorry for rant!!!