Thu, 21 Aug 2008

Grocery Store Hawkers

On my way into the local Safeway, I was accosted by a man, standing by what was presumably his pre-teen son, with a bunch of candy bars.

"Help us raise money for football helmets by buying a candy bar," he offered.

"No thanks", I said over my shoulder as I walked into the store.

Then it occurred to me that this man was selling what Safeway was selling. Except inside a reputable store with a physical storefront and a clear customer/vendor relationship, I'd pay $1, and outside I'd pay some stranger $5 for what supposedly would be spent on football gear...

At least with the girl scouts, they're selling something that Safeway doesn't carry!

Some would say that I'm missing the point-- the point is this is a fundraiser, not that you can find the sold goods for cheaper elsewhere... But at least community supported TV and radio stations offer either unique items, or take the time to silkscreen their logo onto a $15 flash drive before they try to sell it to you for $75... And it's tax-deductible, and you have a reasonable expectation that it'll be spent on something worthwhile.

Of all the charities Christine and I patronize, do I really want to spend $4 on this (and in the process get a $1 candy bar which I not only didn't want to buy not to mention eat)?

Even if the money was truly going to be spent for football gear, maybe your son's team should focus on basketball or soccer which has a much cheaper price of entry if standing outside a grocery store is going to determine whether you can suit the team up or not.

Curiously, the man and his son were both gone when I came out five minutes later. They weren't sitting at a table, and in fact, when I walked in they were obscured (hiding?) behind a column... Makes me wonder if he was truly raising money for football helmets or for something else... (before he was possibly asked to leave)

My charitable giving is done thoughtfully, periodically, by direct deposit, and is fully tax deductible. If you're going to hawk something, don't try to sell me some kind of sob story that the inflated price is because you need to make outrageous profits on ordinary items to support something that has the semblance of being worth supporting.

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Comments are closed for this story

vaitkadamas -- writes:

Damn grandpa, why didnt you just tell the kid to "get a job!"? Or explain that your football team was so poor, you had to play without helmets... or uniforms... in the snow... I dont know much about charities but the very state of being needy kind of implies they dont have a lot of resources. Direct deposit seems like a lot of overhead for a few kids. Personally Im a little turned off by the way United Way has turned charity into a major corporate business. I've had employers that forced us to donate so that the department met its charity goals. Save this post and look back at it in 12 years when you and your son are in front of Safeway :)


Khan -- writes: You had to be there...

I sincerely don't think this guy was fundraising. I guess my "scam detector" is set on high, and if I were to sit outside a grocery store in 12 years, I'd bring a table, a chair, make a sign, and have some pictures of the team, not just stand there with some candy bars in my hands.



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