To be really pissed off about my office's attitude towards our food bank donation

[LookingForAHandHold]

Every year we run an office collection for a local food bank. This year we're doing one for families with nothing and young children.

So far im the only one who has really donated. I understand times are tough, but it's £1 for a pack of biscuits in Iceland.

People are making horrible comments too, about the branded names etc and the ungrateful brats who don't deserve it. It's for young children. It just breaks my heart.

I'm so close to taking it all home and donating it myself

The comments are mean and unnecessary absolutely. Not donating to a charity forced upon them by a workplace is perfectly acceptable though. I donate to charities chosen by myself, it’s a personal choice and I don’t need my workplace to dictate who or what I donate to.

well it would rather look like that

if in previous years it’s been a real success

and you weren’t there

@stillthinkdaft thank you

What are people with children doing with their money that is more important than feeding their kids though? Benefits should cover the cost of food at a minimum, and if they don't then the amounts of benefit should increase.

Maybe benefits covers enough to feed your children adequately but maybe someone would like to give something extra like chocolate or cake or whatever to their kids at christmas - the way you do to yours. Maybe that is why you collect food at xmas - to give treats and nice things to people who normally can't afford it.

so it’s been running for years
it’s been successful
this year, the first year you have been involved, it’s going badly

I mean… it does look like your approach may, just may, be contributing to the poor showing this year against a back drop of previous successful years when you weren’t present 🤷

@LookingForAHandHold don't give yourself so much stress over something that is almost certainly a marketing effort from the company - you're putting so much of yourself into making this work but the credit will go to the company, not you personally, and your efforts won't be appreciated.

You've set it up, sent an email so people know it's there, and that's enough. What happens next is outside your control.

People who have been there a while are treating this with suspicion and cynicism - have you asked anyone why that is? If there's someone in the office who you trust, they might be able to shed some light on it.

It sounds like you care a lot about the cause. If you want to, you could donate directly, get involved as a volunteer, etc. That might feel more personally fulfilling than being a minion for the marketing department's seasonal publicity stunt (which is what these things tend to be, in reality).

I wish we could nominate posts for "post that most captures the christmas spirit" This one is definitely a contender.

well how else would you explain years of it being a success when you weren’t there

and the first year you are secretary for it…. it’s going down the tubes?

Oh come on, if people are making horrible comments about "ungrateful brats" aimed at children going hungry they're unlikely to be donating to anything are they?

Not wanting it being able to donate is one thing, moaning and making spiteful comments is another thing entirely and is, as another poster out it, just grim to be honest.

Also why are people piling on the op assuming she's badgering people? It's a workplace collection so presumably organised by the company itself. She's sent One Email to try to get a bit of support/spread the word, that's it.

@stillthinkdaft maybe I'm just a horrible bitch

oh come on!

im pointing out these colleagues have previously been generous and very much embraced the cause

it doesn’t seem a little bit of a coincidence that first year op involved…. there’s been a tidal change in response to it?

I really believe that charitable donations are a personal issue and I don't think it's appropriate in the workplace that you should have personal opinions about other peoples' donations, or lack of them. How individuals spend or donate their own money is personal to them, and should remain so.
If I was your line manager and I would be asking you to stop this crusade before causing more upset amongst your colleagues.
Maybe you could make your own donations and/or volunteer for a food bank in your own time.

oh don’t be a drama queen 🙄

Whoever organised it should send an email with something like
The food bank collection is not working well and we have not had many donations. If you would like to donate please do so ASAP. It is of course fine to not donate but please do not make comments about the recipients as this is unkind.

If it's been increasingly successful year on year, it would be surprising that the whole office has had a sudden change of heart for no reason, and suddenly wants children to starve. So OP what did you really say?

I use to donate to foodbanks all the time until nurses and teachers started coming out the woodwork saying they use them. I'm not giving food to people who earn triple what I do. I do however give to other charities

I donate monthly to 2 charities (£50). For my birthday and Christmas I ask for donations to be made to specific charities. Throughout the year I donate to a homeless charity, Marie Curie and any random charity that I feel I can support. I volunteer for a day a week at a charity that I don’t donate to. At the moment I am trying to work out which homeless/children’s charity I should give to, feeling guilty that there are others that I will be missing out. Other than my son and husband, no one else knows how much I donate. However, I will be damned if someone tries to make me feel guilty because I choose to not give to the charity they support. OP, some people will not want to donate, for whatever reason. Some people may want to donate but can’t afford to but alienating people isn’t the best way to get them to donate.

What a fucking horrible thing to say.
Maybe this year the cost of living crisis is making people tight fisted and nasty with it.
Do tell us what charitable things you've done.

Hi all,

We've picked XX food bank this year for donations, if you're able to give anything please do, it'll be gratefully appreciated

Thanks

I'll be honest and say that I stopped donating after a branded items only and no shop brands comment. The majority of my shopping at the time was the basics range. If I couldn't justify the cost of branded items for my family I couldn't for anyone elses.

“Someone from the food bank came in and spoke in assembly and told the kids they hadn’t brought enough and that they were overprivileged. ”

I would be livid!
How dare they speak to children like that.
Shame on the head for allowing that to happen.

Ah so it's a different food bank this year. Perhaps that has something to do with it. Maybe it is this years charity they are objecting to? Not every charitable cause is equally worthy...

@Fluufer it's for homeless families. How can anyone possibly object to that