It’s the holiday season and the end of the year. Every single day I have three to five requests in my mailbox for donations. Today it was a cancer group, an international aid group, and one other that I can’t remember, and I’ve already 86’d the envelope.
Yesterday was the same thing. All last week and the week before. I swear the five organizations I donate to must share their lists. Each group sends me a gift to persuade me to donate. I have wrapping paper, shopping bags, notepads, pens, and address labels, so many labels. Some groups send cheap potholders, dream catchers, even gloves. One request had four nickels taped to it. Some of my friends throw the stuff away. I say no to that. I donate it to the various thrift stores where I shop.
Here are some of the organizations:
Salvation Army
Doctors Without Borders
St. Joseph’s Indian School (in South Dakota)
Native American Rights Fund
American Cancer Society
Lots of other cancer groups
Parkinsons’ Disease
Huntington’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
National Organization of Women
ACLU
Southern Poverty Law Center
Planned Parenthood
All kinds of political organizations
Save the Children groups
WaterAid
Wounded Warriors
World Wildlife Fund
Save the Elephants
Alma maters
And so on and so forth
I have my five organizations, and the rest of the requests go in the circular file. I can’t give money to everyone. The free gifts don’t sway me.
I guess I can’t move for a while. I have enough address labels to last me five years.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 