Today’s Thursday Thought sheds some light on the act of giving and the size of the gift.
Tag Archive for will
BEFORE You Donate to Good Will…
Put yourself in this position: You are given a job that doesn’t fit your abilities, then criticized and have your pay lowered when you don’t perform well. You may get 58 cents an hour while the executives are paid $48,000 and up a year. The “company” grosses $56 million a year while getting hundreds of millions of dollars in government support, yet none of that money is passed on to you, the worker.
This is Good Will Industries. Their mission is to help the disabled by giving them work, but, in many cases, they hold back people who, properly trained and given the opportunity, could earn their own way into a satisfying, non-poverty-level life.
There are so may other organizations out there that we can give our goods to– Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, charity-supporting thrift stores, etc.–that have low administrative costs and do a huge amount of good work that actually build up people’s lives.
Before you give anything to Good Will, take a look at this eye-opening video: http://www.upworthy.com/words-like-good-and-will-dont-belong-together-if-this-is-the-kind-of-thing-they-do-5?c=bl3.
[Full disclosure: I am a person with a disability.]
Cheating the Elderly
“Last Will and Embezzlement”—that’s a film worth watching. It describes the financial exploitation of the elderly. The problem is widespread and can happen to anyone, even Mickey Rooney, and it is perpetrated by cleaver strangers, close friends, and “loving” relatives. Yet, such abuse is often not reported. Even when it is reported, prosecution is difficult—IF the legal system will even bother to prosecute. This eye-opening documentary presents several cases, giving us an idea of what to watch out for with our loved ones. You can find the 2012 film on Netflix and probably elsewhere. If you have elderly friends or relatives, or if you’re aging (we’ll ALL get there), it’s worth the 1 hour 22 minutes you’ll spend watching it. (See the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJCDQpqHPEQ.)