As much as I try to contribute to charities, I'm always disillusioned by what I saw as a volunteer for several organization when I was younger.
I saw several volunteers for the local branch of a certain national cancer foundation skimming money from donation boxes. They were never stopped, nor were they caught as it was people higher up that were participating in it.
The local branch of a local charity clothing organization regularly has members skim out "good" clothing from the piles and either keep it for themselves or sell them. Again, no one stopped them because higher ups were involved.
So I'm glad to see smaller, grass roots type charity drives like these being mentioned actually doing real charity work.
@MrBounce: I remember after 9-11 and Katrina hearing all kinds of scams going on to milk good honest Americans (and sometimes people from other countries too) out of honestly earn money. It made me sick.
@MrBounce: Maybe their guilt will eat them up. Probably not. I guess we can just hope that they are sent to Dante's Hell for Greed. Or maybe a real life Jigsaw killer is watching them. Most likely not. Gosh, life isn't fair.
@Bouchart: You don't donate to charities because it's easy to find excuses not to. Giving money isn't the only thing you can do. Last year I bought $360 worth of toys, books and DVDs for a Children's Hospital's Amazon wishlist. And even if administrative costs are extremely high, does that mean no money is reaching the destination?
@Devil's Advocate: In some cases, yes. I've read reports on several charities here on Long Island whose administrative costs exceeded the donations they received.
@Bouchart: Then why not donate to charities where that isn't the case? Credit cards and the internet make it very easy to give money to organizations outside of your* area.
*whoops-edit
@Devil's Advocate: Giving items isn't always the best thing either, as you'll see from my original comment. I prefer it to giving money though, because the smell of money just seems to bring out the worst in people, and money can easily be skimmed. Yes, I'm sure some of the money will reach the people who actually need it, but I would feel a lot better if all of it did.
So I just try to pick and choose very locally organized / grass roots type charities because those are the ones run by volunteers. Unfortunately there aren't that many of them because it costs a lot of time and effort (and money) to organize and run charities, and there's also the sad fact smaller charities are used as scams some times. I simply refuse to help out large charities anymore because they're not charities, they're organizations run by people who get paid, which I find is ridiculous.
I'll be living in Seattle come January. Once moved in I ought to look into doing something, I don't know what, to help out.
That last quotation from the cancer survivor made me smile. This seems like a truly good thing to be a part of.
Edited to add: Idea! I see there's a hospital in Seattle doing work with Child's Play. I wonder if there's room for someone like myself to volunteer time. Would a child like a 25 year old guy to come and talk about games with them? Play some multiplayer stuff, or just have some company? I don't even know.
I know when I was younger I never wanted to hang out with kids my age, I liked the older kids and those in high school or even college. I felt cool being around them. Was that just me or all kids?
@Friedhamster: "a bus that constantly pulls to the side of the road and won't go faster than 45 mph. Completely the mini-game takes 8 continuous hours of play. Desert Bus can't be paused and if you crash or drive off the road you get towed back to Tucson and have to start over"
In the day filled with people looking to find the best deals, and racing through stores looking for cheap TVs and such it's nice to reflect on the good that humanity can do for each other.
Good stuff guys. Maybe next time you can get the people buying airplane tickets to just donate the money instead of flying all the way over there. That could improve your numbers. :)
@mangs: Well, think of it in terms of a concert that donates a portion of its proceeds to some charity. Sure, the charity would benefit if people just donated the full amount they would spend attending, but the big draw is the event itself.
@Kobun: Yea I know. More people will contribute money if they get something in return. The same way Sony is ACTUALLY SELLING PS3s now that it costs $299 because it's finally cheap enough. OK not like that at all. But raising money for charities is awesome.
I'm sorry but I'm just gonna have to raise the point:
How much would you have made had you put up some of the swag for auction online?
Like I heard the Fortune Hunter went for $1000, with one guy being offered $1500 for his.
Some of us have deep, and charitable pockets. Just not all of us can make it to Denver, and even those close may not be able to make it to an event mid-week.
@Brian Crecente: I did mention the whole cash for swag thing? :D
Charity gets £1, I get a silly red nose.
Charity gets £6, I get a cuddly bear
Charity gets £1,500, I get the key to Shambala
:D
Well I'll be nowhere near Denver sadly, but I wish you guys all the best and I hope the fund raiser brings in tons of money for the kids. Kotaku you guys rock for doing this!
11/29/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
I'm not getting the same effect, but to each their own.
(Jokes aside, I agree.)
11/27/09
11/27/09
I saw several volunteers for the local branch of a certain national cancer foundation skimming money from donation boxes. They were never stopped, nor were they caught as it was people higher up that were participating in it.
The local branch of a local charity clothing organization regularly has members skim out "good" clothing from the piles and either keep it for themselves or sell them. Again, no one stopped them because higher ups were involved.
So I'm glad to see smaller, grass roots type charity drives like these being mentioned actually doing real charity work.
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
*whoops-edit
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
So I just try to pick and choose very locally organized / grass roots type charities because those are the ones run by volunteers. Unfortunately there aren't that many of them because it costs a lot of time and effort (and money) to organize and run charities, and there's also the sad fact smaller charities are used as scams some times. I simply refuse to help out large charities anymore because they're not charities, they're organizations run by people who get paid, which I find is ridiculous.
11/27/09
11/27/09
That last quotation from the cancer survivor made me smile. This seems like a truly good thing to be a part of.
Edited to add: Idea! I see there's a hospital in Seattle doing work with Child's Play. I wonder if there's room for someone like myself to volunteer time. Would a child like a 25 year old guy to come and talk about games with them? Play some multiplayer stuff, or just have some company? I don't even know.
I know when I was younger I never wanted to hang out with kids my age, I liked the older kids and those in high school or even college. I felt cool being around them. Was that just me or all kids?
11/27/09
11/27/09
Just a big grand ol' time for those gamers what wanted to do something for someone in need.
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
This :)
11/27/09
My guess is they make jokes as they play. It is done by a "sketch comedy group" so I can only assuming they make it silly.
11/29/09
"So bad, it's good," I'll imagine.
This is (in the best-case scenario) what happens to a terrible game when you play it with friends. Humor makes most things better.
11/27/09
Well done Kotakuians. Well done indeed.
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/23/09
I kind of missed the Mercury. Cervantes seemed pretty run down, but I still had a lot of fun. Looking forward to my 4th year in a row next year!
11/23/09
11/23/09
Good thing, this.
11/23/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
11/23/09
How much would you have made had you put up some of the swag for auction online?
Like I heard the Fortune Hunter went for $1000, with one guy being offered $1500 for his.
Some of us have deep, and charitable pockets. Just not all of us can make it to Denver, and even those close may not be able to make it to an event mid-week.
11/23/09
:D
11/23/09
Charity gets £1, I get a silly red nose.
Charity gets £6, I get a cuddly bear
Charity gets £1,500, I get the key to Shambala
:D
11/20/09
It doesn't look THAT different from the Elite except the disc tray is matte black and it has random grey strokes and numbers on it. *shrugs*
11/19/09