Charity

I want to relay a story that I heard today from a very reputable source. During the Christmas Holidays Clackamas County Social Services were given donations from a very prominate law firm in the area. These items were to distributed to the children in the welfare and foster care system, the items were from upscale department stores and toys that were on the dream list of all the children in America. Now, here is where the story gets intertesting, the social workers at Clackamas County shopped, yes that is what I said, shopped with these items. What do I mean by shopped, well---- here is how it works, the items come in, the employees decided what they want, they pay whatever they feel is appropriate for the item, and then they go out and purchase what they think the children in the system need and deserve. This means they purchase cheaper items and items of lesser quality. The statement made by one of the employee's was "It's okay to do this, the children in the system could not possibly appreciate these expensive items, and we just purchase what they can appreciate." Now is that what you have in mind when you donate to a government agency? Do you purchase these items for government employees to shop with then purchase other items for children on the system. I know for myself whenever I give to charity I expect it to go to the recipents (children in the system in this case). I don't purchase nice items of clothing or toys for the children of govenment employees. I also know they are not paying retail for these items when they take them, they are paying what they figure is fair and equatable.

I know now I will reconsider how I give to charity. I will give out right to needy families, that way I will know the items are where I expect them to go. Please consider this and know it probably goes on in many other government agencies in this country.