Donations should be by choice Ð not because youÕre under pressure

Date Published: 06-Feb-2013

Tesco found itself in the spotlight first at the start of the whole horse burger debacle – and now Dunnes Stores finds itself in the eye of a different storm over a ban on bucket collections at some of its stores.

Specifically, they have apparently banned fundraising for at least animal charities – and that has incensed the people of ARAN, the animals rights action network, who have, literally, called out the dogs to join in their protest.

Now ARAN is as worthy an organisation as any other animal charity, but I strangely find myself veering towards the Dunnes’ corner on this one.

Because, quite simply, I’m fed up of people waving buckets in my face as I try to pack up and pay for my groceries.

Theoretically these charity bag packers are there to solve the first part of this problem for you, but more often than not, the only time they stop talking to each other is when you open your wallet to pay.

That’s probably understandable when it’s kids from a sports club, wearing their club jerseys, pushing each other and eyeing up the sweets counter – but when it’s the Mammies and Daddies showing equal disinterest, that’s just taking the biscuit.

They shake the bucket or move it towards your – now se

lf-packed – groceries so that you can help fund their new sports equipment or contribute towards the cost of gear bags before they head off to play football in France.

So you do your own packing – and I’m happy to do it every time – but then you’re expected to throw your change into their bucket because they deigned to throw a glance in your direction.

The Dunnes ban apparently related to certain stores in Dublin and Kerry, but this might be something that catches on – and that’s unfortunate for charities which perform such sterling work.

But there’s an element of the high street chugger – the charity mugger – about this when you are held captive at the cash till and made to feel like Scrooge because you don’t contribute to some swimming club or brigade of bored boy scouts you’ve never heard of.

Everyone knows that charities are finding it harder than ever to make ends meet, largely because many of them are doing the jobs that the state has washed its hands of – caring for the homeless, the poor, the sick, the elderly – but this is sort of a different matter.

I’m all in favour of animal welfare and fully support those who fight for animal rights, but there seems to be more of them than actual animals these days – and perhaps a line had to be drawn somewhere.

Not that this is just about animals charities; it’s even more annoying to be forced to cough up for some community group or playground committee in a part of the county you’ve never even driver through.

It’s one thing to donate money to the St Vincent de Paul or Simon or Croí, but it’s a different matter altogether when it comes to supporting some under-age sporting tour of Lower Saxony.

So perhaps a blanket ban isn’t the thing – but a selective one certainly is an option…not least because there are already so many families out there who cannot afford to pay for their basic groceries these days, never mind throw their change at what may well be a very worthy cause.

If you want to make a donation to any charity of your choice, good luck to you, and indeed congratulations for having a bigger heart and more generosity of spirit than some of the rest of us.

But do it because you want to – not because you have to, just because someone has stuck a collection bucket on the carousel where only your shopping should be.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.