Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be amazed that there were any green discs in the Waitrose charity thing for the Cat's Protection League . . .

162 replies

BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 11:50

. . . when the other two charities to choose from were a SCBU and a charity for families of people with Downs Syndrome?

There were about two feet of green disks for the SCBU, about 18" for the other charity and about a foot for the Cats' Protection.

I mean, I love cats, but would ANYONE think they were more important than the other two?

And yeah, I do understand the political argument that the SCBU should be funded well enough not to need to have to raise its own money.

Cats? You know - it's a cat.

OP posts:
StripeyKnickersSpottySocks · 05/06/2009 14:12

Waitrose here currently has one of the boxes for a local Scout group. Scout group is in a very wealthy, middle class village that I could never afford to live in. I could see why they might want to help an inner city struggling scout group. But the parents of these scouts must have more money than me so no way am I going to donate to it. Think thats even worse than cats.

Morloth · 05/06/2009 14:35

Galava "and I quite often keep mine to let him do it later... (why is that shamefull ?)"

I have no idea but for some totally bizarre reason I feel quite naughty - like I am "stealing" the little green discs or something .

Original poster
BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 14:49

Lots have people have said here, different versions of: "people can give to whatever charity they wish."

I violently agree with this.

I am not saying "people shouldn't support animal charities." I am happy to support animal charities myself.

This is not about people donating their money to charity. The little plastic green disk is not legal tender. You can't go and buy an ice cream with it.

It is a "vote." And putting it in the box in Waitrose is saying: "Dear Mr Waitrose. You have £1000 [I think it's about that amount] to give to charity this month. Please give the proportion of your £1000 represented by this green disk to X Charity and NOT Y Charity or Z Charity."

My OP was saying that I was astonished at the amount of people who thought Cats' Protection is a more "worthy cause" than the other two charities. Although as I said, I do appreciate the government funding issue.

If I was the member of the Cats' Protection League's fundraising team who had filled out the application for Waitrose funding, I woud have been gutted to have been put in the same month as the SCBU and a Downs Charity. I'd have expected nothing.

Hence my surprise that they seemed to get quite a bit.

OP posts:
OrmIrian · 05/06/2009 14:51

It make no odds whether it's a donation or a 'vote' the principle still stands.

starkadder · 05/06/2009 14:51

YAB very U.

I never understand why people get so angry about the existence of animal charities.

I don't think it is a given that humans are more valuable than animals, and I do think that we have a responsibility towards animals, who can't help themselves, perhaps particularly pets which have been maltreated.

Also, why does it bother you? If you don't care about animals and don't want to give to an animal charity, then don't. Surely it's a good thing that others DO care?

starkadder · 05/06/2009 14:54

Sorry, jut re-read that and I think I was a bit full on there; after all, you didn't say you were angry about it. I think I get a bit het up about it because I do feel, quite strongly, that it's a good thing to care about animals as well as humans. We aren't the only creatures on the planet. But didn't mean to be quite so scary..!

Original poster
BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 14:57

Can you read my last post please starkadder.

Wherever did I say I was angry?
Wherever did I say it bothered me? Amazement is not the same as anger or being bothered.
Wherever did I say I don't care about animals? I say in my first post I love cats
Wherever did I say I don't want to give to an animal charity?
Wherever did I say I don't give to animal charities?

OP posts:
Original poster
BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 14:57

sorry x-posted

OP posts:
starkadder · 05/06/2009 15:01

I was a bit full on, hey?! Sorry!! .

spicemonster · 05/06/2009 15:05

I think lots of people like to give to fluffy charities that are warm and nice. And SBCUs are a bit scary as is Downs. Also, a large proportion of the tokens (as evidenced by this thread) are donated by children and if they are old enough to choose themselves, they are going to pick cats. If I get 3 tokens (which they will give me if my DS is being particularly appealing) then one goes in each box. If I get one, I choose the least popular. So in your case as it had less tokens, I may well have chosen the CPL.

And I clearly have too much time on my hands

NorkyButNice · 05/06/2009 15:05

My mum would give her token to the cats...

Nahui · 05/06/2009 15:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

gagamama · 05/06/2009 15:27

I think YAB a little U. I'm not a fan of cats and wouldn't have put my token in that particular bin, but I think people's judgements on whether one charity is more deserving of money than others isn't based purely on how worthwhile the cause is. I'd have balanced it up against things like how much money I thought would be spent charitably and how much would just be spent on overheads and administration costs, or whether I or someone I know has personally benefited from the charity. Or I might just give it to the charity with the least tokens.

I understand where you're coming from, but there were less in the CPL bin, which is basically what you would expect. And there are people who do prefer cats to children.

expatinscotland · 05/06/2009 15:32

'My OP was saying that I was astonished at the amount of people who thought Cats' Protection is a more "worthy cause" than the other two charities.'

And you asked AIBU.

Well, yeah.

No. 1, who goes around noting how many discs are in each bin?

Secondly, so what? It's a non sequitur that someone who puts their disc in the CPL one finds that a more worthy cause than a human one because you have no idea what, if any, other charities they support.

JemL · 05/06/2009 15:33

But OP, if you aren't angry, you're not bothered, you think cats are a worthy cause, and you yourself give to an animal charity, what is the point of all this?!

FWIW, animal charities receive 5% of the total amount donated by individuals annually...medical research is the top cause at 17%, followed closely by religious causes at 16%...and as someone who works for an environmental charity, I can bitterly point out that the environment only gets 3%!!! So I think the perception that animal charities are a hugely popular cause is not an accurate one...particularly when you condsider that other sectors such as hospitals (11%) also benefit from statutory funding in many cases.

Original poster
BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 15:50

"But OP, if you aren't angry, you're not bothered, you think cats are a worthy cause, and you yourself give to an animal charity, what is the point of all this?!" - JemL, because I was simply surprised, having seen the boxes when they were first installed, and thinking that the CPL box would get next to nothing, that actually they got quite a lot.

I think I put my disk in the DS charity box because I am afraid I don't agree with Namui that "The families with DS kids already have a plethora of support available." I haven't noticed a plethora of support for the families with children with DS that I know. Also, it was not a main DS charity, so although I expect it would get grants from the bigger one I'd still expect it to be struggling.

Expat - "No. 1, who goes around noting how many discs are in each bin? " - well quite a lot of people if you read all the posts.

and "It's a non sequitur that someone who puts their disc in the CPL one finds that a more worthy cause than a human one because you have no idea what, if any, other charities they support." - yes you are quite right there.

The pre-school my DCs attended was a "contender" a while back. I didn't put any disks in their box, but I DO support them and have coughed up today in fact.

Happy to be designated U

OP posts:
rasputin · 05/06/2009 15:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

somewhathorrified · 05/06/2009 15:59

I'd always give it to the cats over any other charity, but I'm a mad cat lady. I'm just gutted that my waitrose hasn't had a cat charity yet.

littleducks · 05/06/2009 16:13

Tbh i dont really care deeply about who receive the most money from the waitrose scheme, all the charities get some money and i may pick the one that is 'loosing' or a charity that i think especially highly of, causes that are very important to me i will be donating my actual cash to so i let dd decide and she loves the tokens

littleducks · 05/06/2009 16:15

and my dd is 3 so prob doesnt have a clue what she is picking

supagirl · 05/06/2009 16:21

People should be free to support whichever charities they choose imo. Most charities are worthy but you can't give to them all. I have certain charities I support and get annoyed when people challenge me about it or accuse me of not caring because I don't give the one of their choice.

If people want to support animal charities then that's fine, it's their choice.

Personally I think people are too quick to hand over a couple of quid (or a green disk!) to ease their conscience but don't actually "do" anything practical to support that charity. If the OP feels strongly about the other 2 charities then why not do some voluntary work for them to help raise their profile and/or increase their funds?

SG

LovelyTinOfSpam · 05/06/2009 16:35

YABU

  1. Lots of people let their children do it
  2. They split the money proportionately between the charities, it's not like a winner takes all sceanrio
  3. I often go more than once a week and when without DD sort of "share out" my tokens
  4. I will also often put them in the one who has least, as i feel a bit sorry for them

The number of tokens would maybe reflect peoples real life choices, that reasoning would mean that people put the SCBU and DS charities ahead of the cats, which is what you want. The fact that some people like cats is neither here nor there - the other charities did have more tokens.

If cats had been full and there was not a single token in the other two I may be a bit surprised, but that's not how it was.

Our waitrose always has really good local things BTW, and stuff that you've never heard of, and loads of things for children. I think it's an excellent idea to engage people a bit more in giving in general.

Tortington · 05/06/2009 16:43

i'm right there with ya

its a cat

Dinglydanglytoy · 05/06/2009 17:00

BalloonSlayer. You have your value system. Other people have different value systems for what is important to them, funnily enough Newsflash - we do not all think the same as "BalloonSlayer"!

Original poster
BalloonSlayer · 05/06/2009 17:04

oooo - eeee - ooooo !!

< holds handbag up to chest >

Yeah, dinglydanglytoy, I had sort of worked that one out. That's why I posted on AIBU, you see, to discover whether people on here thought the same as me or not.

And - behold! - some do and some, probably most, don't.

That is what AIBU is for, isn't it?

(Isn't it usually the OP who has to have that pointed out to them, not the other way round?)

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread