The Challenge

The Challenge

Someone challenged me today to do the "ice bucket challenge" and I told them quite firmly but kindly that I wasn't going to do it.

I felt their discomfort with my decision right away.


"What you aren’t into charity"?
"What you don’t believe in giving"?
"Don’t you feel anything for the sufferers of ALS/Any illness, disease or malady"?

The answer to the above is simple, yes I do !

I would happily add my money to the pot, however consider that the Charity in question for ALS stated in their annual report they were reported as using 7% of the money(in 2012) for actual research....just enough to keep charity status.

However I am sorry but I am not going to do something I don't want or feel like doing just because the whole world is doing it. I have never been into jumping on bandwagons, even fun ones, but that wouldn't stop me if I thought it would help, but it won’t.

The ice bucket challenge has done one thing raised awareness of ALS and the plight of its sufferers, for this I am truly happy.  If people are so moved, just donate, but don’t be led about by your heart, unless your brain has has a good look into what you are donating too. Look into who benefits.

Charity is BIG business 

In the UK alone in 2012 was estimated total amount donated to charity by adults in was £9.3 billion (down on previous years), with 55% - 58% of British adults giving monthly(1)

And top executives pay is astronomical in some cases.  Research has found that 30 of the top 100 earners in British charities were paid more than £200,000 a year and nine were paid more than £300,000.  The average pay across the top 100 was £208,000 to £216,000 a year, according to research earlier this year by Third Sector magazine which examined their most recent annual reports and accounts for 2011 or 2012.

It found that the two highest-paying charities were the London Clinic, a Harley Street-based hospital, where one executive received between £990,000 and £1m in 2011(2)

1. https://www.cafonline.org/PDF/UKGiving2012Summary.pdf
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10236183/Nine-British-charities-paid-staff-over-300k-each-last-year.html

Instead of throwing money at large charities who have proven on a major scale to be wholly inefficient at putting our money where it should be in the hands of millions of sufferers rather than on executive cars, offices with corporate furniture and branding....

Keep it Local

Why not support local charities, that work within your own community, donate time volunteering in a local charity shop or with the elderly, sick, disabled and struggling families etc.  Use your money wisely, buy your pensioner neighbours a pair of new slippers in the winter to prevent falls, donate food for both people and animals, donate old but good clothes, baby wear or equipment, furniture, etc etc the list is endless.
Your thoughts .....I would love to get positive and reasonable feedback on this and other ideas or even names of charities in the Derbyshire area that need you/our/my support.

At +Link4Growth Derbyshire  and +Link4Growth  in general our hearts are with the local communities, we care and want to help change our community for the better.


Come with us, join us, come for a coffee on the 24th September 2014 at Jan's Cafe in Heanor 10am to 12:30pm and lets find out how we can benefit local charities and businesses and PEOPLE in our community.

Link4Coffee - Heanor - Derbyshire - Held in Heanor every 4th Wednesday

Link4Coffee - Ripley - coming soon .....

A list of Derbyshire Charities

Can be found here

http://www.iderbyshire.co.uk/local/charities-and-voluntary-organisations/