Let charities wave the flag, say most Waitrose customers
Thursday 25th August 2011, 11:30AM BST.
Roger Hartwell, 65, argued that while some think it is irritating being asked for money, it does not mean you have to give.
CHARITIES should be allowed to hold flag days outside Waitrose stores, a majority of customers taking part in a Guernsey Press survey have said.
Of the 50 Waitrose shoppers spoken to in Town by the newspaper yesterday, 40 said they wanted charities to be allowed to collect outside in addition to the supermarket’s Community Matters scheme.
Roger Hartwell, 65, argued that while some people think it is irritating having people asking you for money when you are trying to shop, it does not mean you necessarily have to give.
‘If they are there, then people can have the choice,’ he said. ‘You can put in whatever you like or not give any money at all.’
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It comes down to what the store wants, if they don’t want it then they don’t have to.
Just get over it.
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MY PERSONAL OPINION AS A FUND RAISER:
I work as a voluntary fund raiser for a local charity. We recently held a flag day and were thrilled to have collected nearly £2000, standing outside as many shops as we could find volunteers for,9 shops outsidetown), who kindly agreed to let us ‘rattling’our tins.
I feel embarrassed that such a fuss is being made when there are so many shops to choose from and Waitrose are already offering something a little more interesting with their token box project.
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By that reasoning, AN. Other, we should let incoming businesses dictate our way of life. That would be a sad outlook. I hope Waitrose do listen and reinstate the flag days. You don’t have to give if you don’t want to.
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Susan Riseborough – a good perspective.
rocquaine – our way of life? look at the results of the on-line poll. it’s not so clear cut.
The GP street survey referred to in the article is clearly flawed – anyone who would be put off by chuggers at the supermarker would equally avoid stopping and talking to the GP reporter with a clipboard.
I think that Wiatrose should be applauded for their token scheme, which involves them putting their own money into local charities. If some people feel strongly about giving their money to charity, there are plenty of ways in which they can still do so!
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another thought occurred to me as I dropped my green token into the box yesterday, which is that many of the charities benefitting from the Waitrose token scheme are smaller charities that most of us would not have heard of and would not be likely to get the chance to donate towards. These are the charities or good causes that cannot mobilise a small army of bucket shakers.
Therefore, it would seem that the token scheme steers donations towards the smaller charities while removing one fund raising option for the larger charities.
I think that this opportunity for small charities to be put in the spotlight means that, on balance, the Waitrose policy is a good one.
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Some of the charities in the Waitrose token scheme do not seem to be very good causes,I would like to see them give to more worthy causes,sometimes Ive not felt any of the 3 to worthy at all.
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I Le Page – if you don’t like the charities that day keep your token. Waitrose change them around (although I noticed recently the ones at Admiral Park hadn’t changed for a while) and there is no obligation to put it in the box that day.
Why not wait until a future visit when you can drop your token in the box of a charity you prefer?
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Paul Le P – absolutely right! I “stockpile” my tokens until I see something I want to add it too. I won’t give to animal charities, so choose to add mine token to something i consider worthwhile. All the furore about this makes me really seethe. We are talking about two shops; there are plenty of other places to tin rattle – so I think its about time to leave Waitrose alone to get on with their business.
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The on-line poll seems to give a completely different result. Maybe a page in the press should be given over to this?
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