which charity do you support mainly and which ones seem to pass you by?

[jane103]

Breast cancer _ i just havent ever been affected by it.
aids dont give to as I think htey get loads of money]
heart diesease and childrens soc yes

Very selfish really.
Support Breast Cancer(MIL has been fighting it for years)
Down Syndrome Assos(dd has DS-did 5K run in September)
Local charities such as dd's SN nursery and actively support & help with fundraising events at both my ds's & dd's school/nursery.

Selfish-aren't I.

well I won't be one this year that's for sure!!! absolutely no benefits at all - not even free entry to the quiz night

jammy stop!

Dingle - you're not selfish at all

How about the Jampot Benevolent Fund ?

snort

I give to FSID (cot death) NCT and Mind. They're the ones closest to my heart, although keep meaning to donate to NSPCC too but haven't got around to it .

direct debit to cancer research and water aid. have given to shelter/amnesty/mind

always give loads (as am usually half way thro bottle of wine) on comic relief nights and inevitably sob thro the serious bits...especially last time.

always buy the dishclothes too. and the big issue. and i always give to buskers and often to beggars...yes, yes, i know they sometimes spend it on stuff that isn't great, but i reckon if you're that desperate you deserve some small change...i never, ever give to women using their babies/children tho...that really breaks my heart

i give to amnesty, I think that of all the charities they are the ones who will make a difference. Most other cgarities clear up the mess that people have made, but Amnesty actually supports the people who MAY just be able to stop the mess in the first place (does that make sense- it's politics)
I also give to tin rattlers as long as it is not a charity that uses animals in their research (cringes for a mon=ment- maybe nobody will notice)
I work for an animal charity so don't give much money to any of those.
Oh yes, save the children, and recently I have given to fire fighter's funds.

oops, there is more than one fire fighter. If ks is around, or any of the other grammaticians, sorry!

ks has gone

Our main charitable donation is to our local church which in turn supports a number of local and overseas ventures (eg working with homeless locally, but also education projects in Africa etc). We're directly supporting aid workers in Afganistan (because Dh knows them). We have given to the Cats Protection League motivated out of guilt at having to give up our 2 cats to them once ds1 started to scare them. DD with Shelter for same reason as Frieda. We give regular amounts to Action Aid, UNICEF and TearFund, and generally any disaster fund esp where children are hit (though this is usually a heart over head decision!). We also have charities listed as beneficiaries in our wills including the Baby Life Support System one for premmie babies.

I'm afraid I just hate the tin-shakers of Big Issues sellors etc - I dislike the thought of being hassled into giving money, and prefer to think about it where possible.

We sponsor a child through World Vision, belong to NT and also subscribe to local wildlife trust (more environment than animals). And we host a child from Chernobyl for a month every year, which also involves taking part in some fundraising which we always contribute to as well.

Usually put £1 in the tin for whoever's in town on a Saturday - more if it's something local like Mountain Rescue or hospice. And spend loads of money in charity shops - mostly Oxfam, Shelter and Cancer Research - does that count?

Tend to avoid Big Issue cos the bloke we get is so scary (pathetic!) and also the well-dodgy kids' ones where it's not quite clear who will benefit...

Oh, and made a one-off contribution to Debra after watching the boy whose skin fell off.

I can always act like a medium to get hold of ks though. I quite fancy wearing a headscarf.

Direct debits to Amnesty and Greenpeace and, er, do all my shopping in charity shops

British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK for personal reasons tbh. Monthly direct debits for both.
Always fill up charity bags for The Salvation Army and give to them at Christmas too. I also buy Christmas Cards for one charity direct from them - not the swindle in store charity cards that seem to donate peanuts.... This year it's the pta (which is a registered charity!) helping to raise school funds, again....

Lady Muck - a Big Issue seller isn't hassling you into GIVING money, they are asking you if you want to buy a product from them. It's not an act of charity it's a commercial transaction. And it's actually a very good read.

THE DOWN'S SYNDROME ASSOCIATION - Main charity I support, I give out collection tins and pin badges where I live, send regular money and did the paprachute jump and made others do it with me so altighther raised over £8,000

Cancer Research and Breast Cancer
Mind

I buy Big Issue when i see him in Pinner and have regular clear outs at home and give my bags of stuff to Barnados

I give only to Human Charities - no animals, like a lot of the rest of you.

We give to our Church, Oxfam, Christian Aid and Amnesty regularly as well as one of donations to other things (like Sudan recently). Also try to buy fair trade as much as possible. Mostly give to charities abroad - hate the phrase 'Charity begins at home!' Urgh!

Hatter,

Was on the train last night, and believe me, the guy was asking for donations - in addition to selling the paper of course. I hate it when people come onto the train, prepare a little rant at how well off we all are, and how poor he is, and then go round each person on the carriage to hassle them into buying or giving money (with a loud commentary - "ooh what a lovely lady givng such a nice donation"). He did manage to make about £20 in one carriage between waterloo and vauxhall though, so can see why he does it.

My idea of a commercial transaction is being able to buy the Evening Standard from the stall just before getting on the train - no commentary, no hassle. Would be far more inclined to buy the Big Issue if sold in this manner.

My charities are NSPCC and breast cancer. Will normally put lose change in charity boxes, regardless of charity.

Always buy the Big Issue.

Our chosen charity at work is meningitis trust.

I hate it when you get the sally army or any carol singers in the pub at Christmas time. At the end of the day you've come out for a quiet drink you don't want hassling. Oooh I'm on a roll how about those flaming gypsy types that come round selling flaming roses. That only used to happen on holiday but now they come in pubs and restaurants here!!!!

haven't thought about the salvation army in years, i think they're great, they do all the stuff no one else can be bothered to do, v unglamorous

Don't do animal charities,especially RSPCA as they have never been able to help when I have rung then about abandonded animals,but ssem to have enough cash to waste in other directions.

Always give to the Ectopic pregnancy trust as they were a lifeline after I had mine & are very short of funds & face closure shortly.Also Salvation Army as they do a lot of work with people that society has given up on & unlike some religions,put their money where their mouth is.

Cancer charities get my money,especially after my friends little girl was diagnosed with a brain tumour.I support local hospices & the RNLI too.

We used to sponser a child in Africa but had to stop when I went part time.