it is that time of year again... when the bell ringers guilt you into donating all your loose change to the salvation army. i thought i'd write a few thoughts about it since twice... i've been a bell ringer.
when i worked in washington, one day of the christmas season, the staff at the WaRO would volunteer to fill the bell ringer spot for a day. we took hourly shifts and stood outside of walmart, ringing away in pairs (actually in fours... since there was 2 of us at both entrances of walmart). i was always surprised at the mannerisms of the people walking in (and out) of the store. here were some of the responses we would get:
1. no eye contact (this was most common)
2. "i'll get you on the way out"
3. "sorry, i don't have any change"
4. "this is all i have"
5. "i already gave"
6. a donation (this was unfortunately the least common)
thing is that we really don't care if you give or not. the money isn't for us, and we weren't a part of the salvation army. we can't see how much you do or do not put in the bowl - it could be 2 pennies or 2 $100 bills, we'd never know the difference. we never asked anyone for money, we just stood there and rang the bell, thanking people who did give.
and as you may or may not know, beaufort county is not a very "rich" county. there are lots of low-income people that live both in and around washington. walmart is the only "big" store there, so it did gets lots of traffic. but, surprising to me, the people that gave money were never the people i thought would give.
it was always the very poorly dressed (old, raggedy clothes) black people that would give the most money. the very people who looked like they were well below the poverty level... people who probably didn't have much to start with. the rich, snooty white people rarely gave - they were always the ones either making no eye contact or saying they didn't have any change or something. women were more likely to give than men (not really a surprise). people with kids were more likely to give also (the kids like to put change in the bucket).
occasionally, someone would tell us how the salvation army helped them at some point in their life. (really it was rare for anyone to speak to us, so any stories were always wonderful and made me glad for the hour i was spending in the freezing cold ringing that annoying bell.)
so, folks, gather all that change that has accumulated on your dryer or under your car seat. when you pass by a bell ringer, make eye contact. speak. and put in a nickel or a penny or $10, whatever you have to spare. but, don't put it all in one bucket... keep some for your way out, and the next time you go in, and the next store with another bell ringer. although you aren't helping the ringers (it is all volunteer), they appreciate your kindness and acknowledgement too!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Time to keep change in your pocket!
it is that time of year again... when the bell ringers guilt you into donating all your loose change to the salvation army. i thought i'd write a few thoughts about it since twice... i've been a bell ringer.
when i worked in washington, one day of the christmas season, the staff at the WaRO would volunteer to fill the bell ringer spot for a day. we took hourly shifts and stood outside of walmart, ringing away in pairs (actually in fours... since there was 2 of us at both entrances of walmart). i was always surprised at the mannerisms of the people walking in (and out) of the store. here were some of the responses we would get:
1. no eye contact (this was most common)
2. "i'll get you on the way out"
3. "sorry, i don't have any change"
4. "this is all i have"
5. "i already gave"
6. a donation (this was unfortunately the least common)
thing is that we really don't care if you give or not. the money isn't for us, and we weren't a part of the salvation army. we can't see how much you do or do not put in the bowl - it could be 2 pennies or 2 $100 bills, we'd never know the difference. we never asked anyone for money, we just stood there and rang the bell, thanking people who did give.
and as you may or may not know, beaufort county is not a very "rich" county. there are lots of low-income people that live both in and around washington. walmart is the only "big" store there, so it did gets lots of traffic. but, surprising to me, the people that gave money were never the people i thought would give.
it was always the very poorly dressed (old, raggedy clothes) black people that would give the most money. the very people who looked like they were well below the poverty level... people who probably didn't have much to start with. the rich, snooty white people rarely gave - they were always the ones either making no eye contact or saying they didn't have any change or something. women were more likely to give than men (not really a surprise). people with kids were more likely to give also (the kids like to put change in the bucket).
occasionally, someone would tell us how the salvation army helped them at some point in their life. (really it was rare for anyone to speak to us, so any stories were always wonderful and made me glad for the hour i was spending in the freezing cold ringing that annoying bell.)
so, folks, gather all that change that has accumulated on your dryer or under your car seat. when you pass by a bell ringer, make eye contact. speak. and put in a nickel or a penny or $10, whatever you have to spare. but, don't put it all in one bucket... keep some for your way out, and the next time you go in, and the next store with another bell ringer. although you aren't helping the ringers (it is all volunteer), they appreciate your kindness and acknowledgement too!
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Thanks for the reminder! I don't mind at all dropping whatever I happen to have in change (or more) in their buckets! The SA has done a lot of good things for people; some of whom I know personally.
ReplyDeleteThe "charity" beggers that I cannot stand are a) the ones in the orange vests on the street corners (over on 15/501 exit off 40 near Chapel Hill you'll sometimes see different ones...sharing the sign about their wife have ovarian cancer) and b) the ones standing outside the store with charities you never have heard of. I had one kid follow me into the store and ask me, "Don't you want to give?" to which I said, "Not to you!"
Mean, I know.
I tend to give most to charities that people I know are involved in...marathons, bike rides, etc.
And, of course, organizations to do with animals.
I guess Hobbes House (where we got P&L) are going on the list now!
We give almost everytime we see somebody ringing the bell. It usually isn't a bunch at one time (mainly because all three big kids want to put money in) but we try to do it everytime.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the bell ringers. I prefer their ringing to somebody yelling "Would you like to donate?" If I saw you and walked away, obviously I didn't.
Oh... and on Amy's note. There was a show done on charity beggers - something like 20/20. The reporters followed the beggers after they left their corners and found them getting into BMWs, etc and were making a KILLING. Makes me mad that people would take advantage of the generosity of others. This is where I hope that kharma is happening a little and they will get what they deserve in the end.
Hard to tell with a lot of the ones we see around here whether they have BMWs or not. But, you see things that make you wonder what their situation really is.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was living in Chapel Hill, before I moved in with Mrs. B, I used to see a sign that said "livin n woods wife has cancer god bless." Funny thing was the sign was not held by the same guy all the time.
Wonder if she had several husbands?