Blog Entry 87 of 92
Charmaine in the city
I've called the Denver area home for more than two
decades now. But this urban/mountain city is still full of surprises. I'll be posting my adventures here, as I explore local eateries, shops and sharing birthday and vacation photos. And once in a while, I'll throw in a music, movie or food review. I hope to keep this blog interactive, so don't be shy to suggest places I should visit. And check it out: I'm on
Brendan's List. Rock on!
Taking advantage of kindness
Contributed by:
Charmaine Robledo/YourHub.com
on 2/26/2008
I've been taught by my parents that when you give you get back twice-over.
So, though I'm no philanthropist, I try to donate time and money whenever I can. I've volunteered at the Denver Rescue Mission, serving food. I've tutored students at Horace Mann Elementary School. My family has spent Thanksgiving and Christmas serving food to the needy. I've donated to nonprofits even if it's as little as $5. Every time I pass a vendor for the
Denver Voice on the 16th Street Mall, I donate a $1 for that month's issue.
It's not much, but it's the little steps that can make the most impact.
But I have been scammed by people taking advantage of well-intentioned folks like me. I should have known better, but I guess I can be gullible at times. The summer after I graduated from DU I was subletting an apartment for a fellow classmate for a couple of months. I was in a hurry to get to a meeting or job interview, but two guys show up at the front door asking if I can help them with a magazine project for their group's trip somewhere overseas.
Uh oh, a red light flashed, but I was feeling so hectic from the day that I let them in, let them talk to me for a few minutes and before I knew it, I was signing up for a bogus magazine subscription. I know, it was my fault, I should have said no and told them to go on their merry way. But they were young and charming and I just didn't know better. So, there went about $42 to their scam account.
Last December, I was in a hurry to get home when a perky young woman stops me at the corner by Dazbog coffee. She and her fellow saleswomen had a table set up stating they were collecting donations for Toys for Tots. Well, I figured I haven't done a charity thing for 2007, so I decided to listen to her spiel. She was with a company called Endeavor Marketing International.
Well, she explained to me that any of the toys and books I purchase from their table, a portion of the proceeds go to Toys for Tots. I can even donate on the spot. I decided to buy a coloring book for $10 and donate it. Again, something in the back of my mind kept telling me something was off about their operation, but I figured ... 10 bucks, what's the harm?
This morning, I read on
7News the company who was doing that same soliciting for Toys for Tots was found to be misleading folks about how much of the money you donate actually goes to the charity. In the article, it stated proceeds from the sales of some items can be as little as 5 percent to the charity. So 95 percent can go to the solicitor, which is pretty unequal and cutthroat.
I was disheartened to read the story since I felt like I was doing a good thing for a good charity. I saved the receipt they gave me for my purchase and only then did I read a warning from them stating they are paid solicitors who will only give a small portion of the money to the specific organization. I wanted to blog about this at that time, but again felt I should have known better.
Not this time. Now that I'm part of a statistic of those scammed, I just want to vent my frustration. No, this isn't going to stop me from giving. I'll try to be more vigilant about who I donate to. My lesson learned and my advice to you: Give to your favorite charity directly! That way, you know where your money is going. I'm glad my donation wasn't more than $10, but there were a couple other folks with me listening to their same deal who may have given more.
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Thoughts? Similar experiences? You can vent in the comments section below.
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