To be not entirely happy that DS2's infant school will send their Harvest collection to a private nursing home?

[lisbey]

Or Old People's House, as he puts it?

The home is very close to the school and the children go there to sing carols, some of the residents go to school to judge fancy dress competitions etc and children have visited the home to ask questions about living throught the War etc, which is great, all done to be part of the community and I'm all for that.

But, we've been asked to provide non perishable food items, tea/coffee/biscuits etc to go the the "old people" as part of the school's Harvest celebration. It won't benefit the old people though will it, but the shareholders of the private company that runs it?

colditz is right. and if it went to a homeless people's day centre then similarly it would go to kitchen and be assimilated.

donkeyderby i'd be ringing the charity commission not looking out tins.

In my day as children we'd distribute the fruit, veg and tins around the flats where the elderly lived. I was chosen to do it one year, it was a huge honour going out with the HT.

Same town 30 years later no way would anyone dare enter the same blocks of flats because of the crackheads. Sad.

I think it is a lovely idea in principle if the items go directly to the residents but from what Colditz says they won't so I wouldn't be happy if that was the case. DS's school did donations for a women's refuge this year which I was very pleased about.

Good lord. If it's going to upset you that much don't give your DS anything to take in then you can give your charity where you think it's more needed.

I work in a Care Home, for a big Company (Southern Cross) and though we are not getting anything from kids for Harvest Festival, I can say that anything we got for the residents would go to them ot they'd at least know exactly where it had come from (say if it was a jar of coffee that can't be given directly to them)

At the last residents meeting, a fair few said they'd love to see more children in the home, which is being arranged via the local dance school and childminding association (kids coming to sing carols and possibly coming in dressed up at halloween) and photos of staff with their kids being printed in the newsletters.

I've not been there long, but I can honestly say I have not seen anything I'd complain about when it comes to the care, or of the standard of anything there.

The people in the home won't care that their cup of instant coffee (which they've already paid for in their fees) is sponsored by little Jimmy's mum this year. They enjoy the social contact and seeing the children. A better gift would be to invite them along to the Harvest Festival service/assembly or take a few along to the home to sing "We plough the fields and scatter" and the other one I forget.

Is it worth contacting the local social services to see if they could manage a few donations for people who are really in need? ie those living on their own who may be lonely or poor? Or perhaps the local soup kitchen? A couple of cans of beans could make a huge difference to someone like that, which it wouldn't in a nursing home.

Or is there anywhere local that does Christmas dinner for the homeless? I'm sure harvest festival gifts would be ideal for them and gratefully received.

And if has to be the local home then jumbo packs of Whethers Original and flowers sound much nicer than catering supplies.

Only on MN could people get their knickers in a twist about the ethics of Harvest Festival boxes...

I agree with the OP. The sort of things we've been asked for aren't luxuries, they are basic essentials - tinned toms, pasta, etc.

They are the things that should be provided by the home, not by donations.

I didn't bother sending anything in.

For our harvest festival we have to give a fresh item - no tins or packets. Then they sell it back to us all at a fair in the afternoon before sending the money to a 3rd world food aid charity.

Not sure how I feel about this tbh. Prefer the idea of kids going round to old ladies houses to give them a basket of food like in t'old days

oh our last ht did something like that!. We could bring in whatever we wanted then it was raffled off. Then the money went to third world.

I won a tin of corned beef

I agree with colditz, the food will either disappear into the regular lunch/dinner stuff and any sweeties or treats will end up in the staff room. FWIW, I'd rather see the stuff go to a woman's aid centre or a shelter for homeless people.

I don't see the point in giving old people living in a home tea and biscuits, surely that's something that the home would provide anyway.
I would suggest the children make pictures for the eldery in the care home and that the food tins etc are given to the elderly living on their own.

My son has profound SN and most of the families sending their children to his school are struggling financially and every other way
Last harvest festival the proceeds were given to a local homless charity. The two representatives sat behind me being incredibly rude and insensitive about the children who were doing various performances - including laughing at them and talking loudly about how horrible it must be trying to care for 'ones like that'.
It was all I could do not to turn around and twat them.
One of their shelters is near my house. Few of their residents are homeless. They are drug addicts and drunks who use the shelter to sleep off the excesses of the day and when they can't get in they spend the night fighting, attacking each other, shagging in the bushes and shitting in local gardens.I find a grim irony in the fact that they frequently terrify my two children if I try to take them to our local park.And Ds2 is now supposed to send them some biscuits.

I won't be sending in a contribution.

I emailed the charity afterwards. Unsurprisingly they chose not to respond.
Ds's assembly is tomorrow. I may catch them for a chat this time .....

Don't give it then. give something to someone/somewhere you are happy with

Wouldent it be better going to homeless shelters or the homeless, I agree with Colditz I am afraid I used to work in residential and it probably will not go straight to the residents.

homeless shelters (as someone else has already pointed out) - will do the same - stick it in the kitchen and use along side the other stuff.

This Harvest Festival donation business has gone a bit awry. Instead of showing off our home-grown produce and giving thanks for a winter of plenty it's degenerated into getting rid of things out of the back of the cupboard and feeling the recipients are undeserving.

I live in a fairly affluent area, and the 'homeless' in the next town seem to have quite high standards too, having last year sent a missive saying "no unbranded goods". The local old people were similarly fussy, and one old beggar at the old people's tea party when being given a goody bag at Christmas said "I don't want any supermarket stuff, only PG Tips or Nescafe."

Pagwatch - I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off the people at your Harvest Festival. I'd shoved a pumpkin over each of their heads.

Message withdrawn

Colditz thank you for teling it as it is. I think the whole HF thing needs seriously looking at. My SIL and BIL got a donation last year to their house. They had just moved into a council old peoples bungalow having just sold their own home. There was no way they 'needed' this donation. There must be far more needy recipients elsewhere.

Our donations of tins, rice, pasta etc all went to the Salvation Army so I'm certain the right people benefited.

MIL was definately not a needy pensioner. She had more income per month than we did!
She had food parcels at this time of year and even more at Christmas time. They were from local schools, churches, British Legion, & rotary club(they always sent duchy of cornwall stuff!) Don't know how she got on the 'list'. Her neighbours, all elderly got nowt!

Most residential and nursing homes in our area are private. It's not like a private hospital or private school. I wouldn't have a problem with this although would give savoury or fruit rather than sweet stuff and not stuff like coffee which I see as an essential for a care home and not part of a UK harvest so inappropriate.

pagwatch, that's vile behaviour. Can you pluck up the courage to report them to the school and ask for them not to be supported? The food is not really the issue - if schools involved these charities, it gives the charities good publicity which this one doesn't deserve.