So let me get this straight.. I have to pay $ to volunteer?

[Eikon]

I got an email at work the other day.. They were encouraging employees to set aside a day to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I thought this would be a great idea. I love the program! I enjoy working on homebuilding activities. (except roofing). I love the idea of helping to build a house for deserving and needy people. So I thought I would look into volunteering.

Guess what I found out: You now have to pay a fee to volunteer! What the hell? Isn't the donation of my time and energy good enough for them? I understand they need to raise $ to pay for building materials.. but they are now making potential volunteers pay $100 per day to come out and volunteer their time. What a joke! I will not be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

Guess what's worse: Susan G Komen. I'm pretty sure they don't even care about breast cancer prevention and treatment anymore.. They only care about raising money. My wife looked into volunteering at a cancer walk for a weekend last summer.. She would have spend 12 hours each day two straight days serving the event.. helping clean up, giving out water, and other tasks and duties.. Rather than accepting her generous offer, they informed her that she would also need to "donate" over $300 for the right to be a part of the event. Like me.. she declined.

I've been reading about the Komen foundation, and I've come to the conclusion that THEY are a cancer as well. They spend more money in court defending their pink logos and "for the cure" slogan than they do on cancer prevention. They actively search for people and groups using anything remotely similar to the color pink or the slogan "for the cure". You might think an organization founded on the idea of helping beat cancer would want to help others do the same thing.. Nope.. they file cease and desist orders and lawsuits to stop other people from using similar marketing slogans in their fight to raise money and promote awareness of cancer.

I shouldn't even post this because I'll probably get sued..

What a joke our society has become. You can't even volunteer your time and energy for a good cause anymore because the greedy organizations have turned good causes into extensions of corporate greed.


K.. done venting!

[frapjap]

Sounds about right. Take the $400 and drop if on a 90% share non-for-profit. Or buy the homeless shelter 400 double cheeseburgers from Wendy's.

[OriginalWheelman]

I heard that Habitat for humanity ends up being a nightmare for the people getting the houses. Think about it, you're getting a house built by amateurs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/us/17 ... wanted=all

I'd rather find a friend of a friend and make their mortgage payment for a month than even give money to habitat for humanity.

[frapjap]

On second thought, if your or your wife are college alums anywhere local, there are ALWAYS causes that require only your time. Ironically, something of which the college kids have plenty, but never donate it.

[frapjap]

Jeesh, when NICO isn't busy logging me out mid-post and losing my information, its posting multiple times.

[Bubba1]

I got an email at work the other day.. They were encouraging employees to set aside a day to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I thought this would be a great idea. I love the program! I enjoy working on homebuilding activities. (except roofing). I love the idea of helping to build a house for deserving and needy people. So I thought I would look into volunteering.

Guess what I found out: You now have to pay a fee to volunteer! What the hell? Isn't the donation of my time and energy good enough for them? I understand they need to raise $ to pay for building materials.. but they are now making potential volunteers pay $100 per day to come out and volunteer their time. What a joke! I will not be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

Guess what's worse: Susan G Komen. I'm pretty sure they don't even care about breast cancer prevention and treatment anymore.. They only care about raising money. My wife looked into volunteering at a cancer walk for a weekend last summer.. She would have spend 12 hours each day two straight days serving the event.. helping clean up, giving out water, and other tasks and duties.. Rather than accepting her generous offer, they informed her that she would also need to "donate" over $300 for the right to be a part of the event. Like me.. she declined.

I've been reading about the Komen foundation, and I've come to the conclusion that THEY are a cancer as well. They spend more money in court defending their pink logos and "for the cure" slogan than they do on cancer prevention. They actively search for people and groups using anything remotely similar to the color pink or the slogan "for the cure". You might think an organization founded on the idea of helping beat cancer would want to help others do the same thing.. Nope.. they file cease and desist orders and lawsuits to stop other people from using similar marketing slogans in their fight to raise money and promote awareness of cancer.

I shouldn't even post this because I'll probably get sued..

What a joke our society has become. You can't even volunteer your time and energy for a good cause anymore because the greedy organizations have turned good causes into extensions of corporate greed.


K.. done venting!

I dont think it's venting at all. Charging a fee in addition to volunteering your time/skill seems like double dipping to me. IMHO, If my company asked me to donate some time to one of their pet charities, I'd only consider doing it if the company paid the fee. Let them put some skin into the game.

[nissangirl74]

I did some research when I first got to AZ about doing the Susan G Komen walk. This is copy and pasted from their website.
(this is for the 3-day walk)

It’s a fundraising event.
Each participant is required to raise at least $2,300 to participate. That might feel like a big obstacle, but we are here to help you every step of the way with tips and tools. The money raised helps fund community education and outreach programs in your community.

Really?
Also, shouldn't that last sentence read " the money raised funds cancer research"

I don't buy anything that benefits Susan G Komen.

In contrast, the American Cancer Society has their own walk, called Relay for Life. Their registration goal is for everyone to donate $100 but if that is beyond your budget, you can walk for as little as $10.

The American Cancer Society asks that each participant make a goal to raise at least $100, but it is not required. You can participate in the event for a $10 registration fee if you cannot raise any funds.....All of the cancer walks/runs are excellent ways to raise money and awareness about cancer. Relay for Life embraces all types of cancer, not just one single type. Proceeds from the thousands of Relay for Life Events help further cancer research and other ACS sponsored programs.

The Relay for Life race is going to be in the Phoenix area in October but I already have something scheduled for that weekend; however, they have another walk on the 27th benefiting breast cancer. I'm making plans for myself and the girls to participate in this one.

[jmann]

Maybe the problem is they have too many people wanting to volunteer, and not enough money being raised and donated. This would kill both of those birds with one stone.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Maybe the problem is they have too many people wanting to volunteer, and not enough money being raised and donated. This would kill both of those birds with one stone.

Hmm very possible simply because what good is a ton of hands if you don't have any materials to build with...

[MuranoDriver]

In contrast, the American Cancer Society has their own walk, called Relay for Life. Their registration goal is for everyone to donate $100 but if that is beyond your budget, you can walk for as little as $10.

The American Cancer Society asks that each participant make a goal to raise at least $100, but it is not required. You can participate in the event for a $10 registration fee if you cannot raise any funds.....All of the cancer walks/runs are excellent ways to raise money and awareness about cancer. Relay for Life embraces all types of cancer, not just one single type. Proceeds from the thousands of Relay for Life Events help further cancer research and other ACS sponsored programs.

The Relay for Life race is going to be in the Phoenix area in October but I already have something scheduled for that weekend; however, they have another walk on the 27th benefiting breast cancer. I'm making plans for myself and the girls to participate in this one.

Relay for Life is a great organization!

I have volunteered for them and Foundation for Fighting Blindness and felt good about both.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

Regarding the Susan g Komen. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer went through chemo treatments and a double masectomy. I was the one who shaved her head when it started to fall out. In honor of her struggle my wife and I were going to do the 60 mile walk. Organizers like your wife need to pay $300 but walkers need to raise $2,700 each. If you dont make that money in time your personal credit card will be attatched to the account and charged the remaining money that wasn't raised. No thank you Susan G Komen I will not accrue $1000s of dollars in credit card debt. We backed out in time and only lost $100. I think it's unreasonable that habitat for humanity wants $100 as well as a days worth of your time.

[alms24sebring]

I guess you have to catch a charge if you want to volunteer for free. Thats some crap though, I dont buy it either.

I can say that our local community donations place thing has tons of food that they donate to people that walk in and at scheduled dinners. And I mean tons and tons of food. Not only that but good food. Sure you got the close to, but not over, the expirated date for milk, uni-racial apples that try to go back to yellow once they had red, and of course a mountain of good ol canned food. Even the produce was fresh and had walk in fridges and freezers to hold them. I guess the point is that it looked like the donations were going somewhere good, but you know the higher ups always skim it or have to reach a certain number to get a good bonus. Who doesnt want that. The other people in business suits that run it have to make money too, volunteering doesnt pay the bills (especially if you have to pay to enter in your case).

[MinisterofDOOM]

I've always felt like there was something off about the Susan G Komen foundation. For one thing, any "charity" organization that can afford to advertise on the same scale as McDonalds probably needs to find more charitable ways to spend its earnings. Hell, I can hardly buy a case of toilet paper without running into their logo.