Friday 26 January 2018

Is charity fundraising all it should be?

Sometimes you honestly cannot make things up or even send up concepts without reality going one better.
Take Charity for instance which is a big thing here in the UK where the Voluntary and Charitable sector accounts for a major part of providing services to groups as well as individuals so the business of raising it it especially for the larger national ones itself has become big.
Several years back there was a lot of concern around people being employed by agencies to aggressively sign up people in the street to regular monthly payments via their bank accounts involving people giving information out in a public setting to complete strangers.
Not being content even with that, they both share your details to other charities who would write to you requesting payments or keep pushing you to up the amounts for that charity to the point some people had felt so under pressure, they committed suicide.
The other way of fundraising involves putting on some kind of an event usually with tickets which might start at say a fashion or make up demonstration where orders may be taken with a percentage going to 'the cause' or a kind of show with a master of ceremonies who introduces a variety of acts and maybe a guest speaker.
Some people do extreme challenges for which they may be sponsored although the tendency to push the individual to their absolute limits to emphasis the bravery and how you should reward it with a lump of your cash does trouble me as sometimes it seems anything is okay cos "it's for charity, ain't it?" 
How about a sponsored crucifixion? I fear one day someone in all seriousness will actually suggest it for it's uniqueness "You too can see if you can cheat death and raise thousands"  the promotional material will say.
Today in all seriousness we are all coming to terms with the idea of a hosted all male attendees event where by design the hostesses are dressed in a sexually objectified way, where sexual advances not consented to occur without anyone batting an eyelid and where paid sex workers even employed in a so-called Presidents Club" just to raise money for charities as if that justifies it.
Like making money from sexual services and committing sexual assaults are justified cos "It's for charity, ain't it"?
I cannot be the first person who is appalled by what happened at this and previous events organized by this club who I understand is a Registered Charity and subject to laws around that never mind not profiting from sex work which itself is unlawful.
How twisted is our obsession with the money we raise  for organizations that do help make our society the richer for what they do that we turn a blind eye to the morality of how that body is funded?
I'd like to think we'd no more condone the sexual abuse of women in fund raising which any go to help victims of that than allow children to be abused and and the proceeds to people like the NSPCC.
We really need to take a step back and think about morals rather more.

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