What is it with charities nowadays???

The other day there was a long, slick ad on the telly, which turned out to be a PR exercise by the Red Cross. Goodness alone knows what it must have cost to make and air, and I thought "wow, they obviously don't need any donations if they can afford that vacuuous nonsense."

Then blow me, today the postman brought an unsolicited envelope from the Red Cross containing several greeting cards for me to use should I wish, a couple of coasters and a pen. Once again, if they can afford to push this tat through my letterbox free of charge, they've clearly got too much money.

I think a lot of the charities are awash with cash and many have boosted their PR and campaigning wings at the expense of carrying out their core activities.

Look at the scandal of Leonard Cheshire homes who a few years back announced they were going to change their name to something stupid, CLOSE some of their homes and boost their PR and lobbying activities. Disgusting.

I tend to agree with you Jon. Those campaigns don't come cheap Im sure, in which case its a shocking waste of funds.

I used to donate very moderate sums of money to several charities but I have now cut that back to just one. Hence when I get to Hastings this weekend I will head for the Lifeboat Station there and make a donation to the RNLI.

If / When I give to any charity I always check out what the people in charge are earning and in many cases they are earning huge salaries and so I dont give to them. I also like to give to small local charities rather than the big names.