How do you help out the less fortunate?

[The_Nuke]

I like to try new beers in my search for the perfect brew by buying 6 previously-unknown beers at a time at my local Kroger grocery store using their Choose Your Own 6 packs.

And while I've found some real nice beers doing that over the years, I've also had some real cruddy ones. I hate to just waste otherwise functional beer just because I don't like the taste, so rather than pour out the ones I don't like, I will save them and give them to the gentlemen standing on street corners asking for help.

If they were going to buy alcohol with the money I might have normally given them, this is much better since it's free and delivered right to them.

In return, I get the cleanest windshield a dirty newspaper and hobo spit can produce.

That's a win-win in my book!

 

[4WD]

$1000/year to company match charities
High tax bracket
Bail out my grown children if something big hits like an HVAC system etc
Lots of stuff to the charity recycle bin
Every time there is a fund raiser plate dinner we over pay
Over tip at restaurants
Always the guy to grab the ticket when a gang of us go for a meal
Wife has a friend we help … she has a low paying job and can't keep up
If a panhandler walks up at red light … only hand them a bottle of water
(agree it's unfortunate you don't know who is real)

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Donate to people you actually know, and to registered 501c3 charities. If you do the latter, use sites like charity watch and charity navigator so that the charity you donate to isn;t a sham.

Giving food and/or money to the local food bank is also good.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
But for the grace....



I do things...just when the time is right...

One time at the hospital I worked at... As I was walking to the patient's room with their discharge paperwork... The lady and her daughter were talking about getting her a cane... The mother was saying it was at least ten dollars that she did not have... I walked in and did their discharge paperwork... I also got a $20 bill out of my wallet and told her to get what she needed... It was obvious just a candid conversation between the two of them... And I just happened upon hearing it... It was legitimate in my strong opinion.

I gave a lady working at a restaurant a $54 tip on a $46 meal.... Yep. Sure did... Was the right thing to do. She was very good and she could use it more than my lady and I.

Just recently I gave a young lady a $29 tip on a meal that was $70.... I could tell she was rather surprised... In a good way... People who are working... In this circumstances... I do that for them.... They deserve it.

Well done.
I do what I can to help family and friends.
I am in no position to judge people, including drunks and druggies; I am one of them; I just didn't hve a drink today.
I used to think I was enabling them when I gave them some cash...
Then a good man told me if I did not give them something they might have died that day. Who can say?
I do like to work on cars, so I help a lotta people when the opportunity arises.

One thing I know for sure: it is better to be able to give a little than to need a little.
And I personally believe with wealth comes responsibility.

The other thing I do with others is sit and talk with them.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

I'll give someone food items, if you're begging for money for food because you're hungry, I'll stop and get you a few McDoubles or whatnot. I've been refused several times, which is fine, I now know you truly arent hungry.

Fun fact: theres a "homeless" guy here who's been on the same corner since I got here mid 2012, sunrise to sunset, hes making bank.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by NO2
Exactly what clinebarger said.

I frequently see panhandlers walking to their station after parking their late model SUV.

Last week I was panhandled at an Ohio rest stop by an blinged out couple in velour tracksuits, in a $45,000 car, who wanted 'gas' money. They didn't even bother to get out of the car.

[censored]!!!!

These was a piece on local TV in Phoenix a while back, about a guy who owned several businesses. Every time he saw a panhandler holding one of those, "Will Work For Food" signs begging, he gave him his card. And told them to call him because he was hiring and needed the help. He even told them he could help with transportation to and from work.

He said through the years he's handed out hundreds of cards..... And he has NEVER received a single call. Not one.

 

[bubbatime]

As a former cop, I used to deal with homeless quite a bit. They would panhandle, get enough for a beer, and then go buy a 40 ounce from the local stop and rob.

One time, when in civilian attire in down down Orlando with friends, where hundreds of homeless sit on the sidewalks and shake their cups at you, one night, I asked homeless people what their state Dept of Corrections number was. 100% of them, ALL OF THEM, recited back their DOC number. This was astonishing to me. I asked 75 homeless people what their dept of corrections number was, and EVERY single one of them had one. This is a shocking statistic.

Homeless people are homeless most often as a choice, rather than a circumstance. They are addicts and would rather spend their money on drugs or alcohol, then on housing and food.

I WILL not give money to a panhandler so that they can further their addiction. If someone asked me for a sandwich, I would absolutely buy them food from a store/restaurant, but I will not give them money.

 

[Duffyjr]

We haven't handed out cash in a long long time, just can't trust it to be used correctly by anyone, Salvation Army, Goodwill even the Human Society around here is corrupt. We also use to donate our time by driving around delivering food on the day before Thanksgiving but the last couple years we did that the people we were giving it to were just rude and not thankful so we stopped doing it. We still take cloths and any thing else we don't need that someone might want to the Salvation Army but that's it.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog

Giving food and/or money to the local food bank is also good.

That's also something I like doing. Several times a year the grocery store runs a deal where you can buy a bag of groceries, usually dried/canned staples, and they donate it to the local big food bank which acts like a clearinghouse for other area orgs. This makes it easy to donate food.. you don't have to drive across town to some org.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I like how '53 Stude changes oil for his friends. This could be done for elderly or sick people.

 

[Cujet]

Over the last 23 years as the "Boss" I've been able to hire a number of less fortunate folks. In a good many cases, they have been able to network properly and move on to better jobs.

I don't give away anything, but I did hire anyone willing to be trained and work.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I have been taught to judge not. Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these...
Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.

From the Joker movie:
"If it was ME lying in the street you'd all just walk over me."

One time, a guy asked me for a buck in a parking lot. I said, "Sure man..." Gave him a lousy dollar and asked, "If you don't mind, what are you gonna do with it?"
He said this and that, had to do this, etc. Of course I knew who he was; he was me.
I tiold him if I was him I hurry up and go get a beer.
He said, "Yeah, man." And tried to give me back the money.
I told him, "It's OK. Do what you gotta do."
"And if you ever wanna change, we will be waiting for you in AA. There are meetings everywhere."
For me, I know I had to drink every last one to get to the last one. Every one.
I hope he made it.

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted by TheLawnRanger
I like how '53 Stude changes oil for his friends. This could be done for elderly or sick people.



Yeah, and I also pick up clothes from disabled veterans boxes along with my Vietnam Veteran co worker and take them to local disabled vets center

 

[Andrew1972]

panhandlers are annoying but who cares don't give to them. They are not less fortunate at all just opportunists.

It's fine to not give as personal choice. However it's ridiculous to state panhandlers are the reason you don't help less fortunate.

 

[02SE]

I was always taught that charity should be anonymous, or at least not discussed. Lest one be seen as tooting their own horn.

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

Since this is basically an anonymous forum and very few people here even know my name, I don't consider this "tooting my own horn," nor do I see anything wrong with discussing charity. Aren't we supposed to outdo one another with kindness? My wife and I have "sponsored" children thru an international organization known as Compassion child https://www.compassion.com/ It costs less a month than we'd spend in one evening dining out, and the letters we receive are PRICELESS.
We sent this Indian girl (other side of the world, NOT Native American), $25 for a birthday gift, and she wrote back to us, thanking us and saying "Today I had meat." What does that tell you about the rest of her lifestyle?
My son has been on mission trips to Senegal, Africa and other places. Poverty beyond what some people can imagine. If you live in the United States, you're rich. A $32,400 annual income will easily place American school teachers, registered nurses, and other modestly-salaried individuals, among the global 1% of earners. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/050615/are-you-top-one-percent-world.asp
From whom much has been given, much will be required.

Originally Posted by 02SE
I was always taught that charity should be anonymous, or at least not discussed. Lest one be seen as tooting their own horn.

 

[02SE]

You can do as you wish. I'm just stating what I was taught, and continue to follow.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by Alfred_B
If I'm interpreting the comments correctly, Texas must be full of scammers and cheats. I wonder why.



Probably has a lot to do with weather.....Not much worry about freezing to death most of the year.
Texas, California, Arizona, Florida....States that have several BIG cities & temperate climate are a magnet for these types.

Let me guess.....Your on the East Coast, Probably New England?

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Originally Posted by Alfred_B
If I'm interpreting the comments correctly, Texas must be full of scammers and cheats. I wonder why.



Probably has a lot to do with weather.....Not much worry about freezing to death most of the year.
Texas, California, Arizona, Florida....States that have several BIG cities & temperate climate are a magnet for these types.

Let me guess.....Your on the East Coast, Probably New England?


Theres actual underground organizations based out of Austin that truck people (who are not homeless) to various corners here in central texas. They panhandle, get picked up at the end of the night, and whoever runs it gets a cut. It's literally their job, its nuts. I have a few clients that do it when they need or want a tattoo, they even get an IRS 1099 self employment form at tax time for this.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
I have been taught to judge not. Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these...
Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins.

From the Joker movie:
"If it was ME lying in the street you'd all just walk over me."

One time, a guy asked me for a buck in a parking lot. I said, "Sure man..." Gave him a lousy dollar and asked, "If you don't mind, what are you gonna do with it?"
He said this and that, had to do this, etc. Of course I knew who he was; he was me.
I tiold him if I was him I hurry up and go get a beer.
He said, "Yeah, man." And tried to give me back the money.
I told him, "It's OK. Do what you gotta do."
"And if you ever wanna change, we will be waiting for you in AA. There are meetings everywhere."
For me, I know I had to drink every last one to get to the last one. Every one.
I hope he made it.



Overall ^^^^

I agree...

My father was a high functioning alcoholic for a good number of years.... He managed really quite well at his job and got promoted numerous times.

The hardest things I have ever had to do was to stand up in front of 580 people plus him and share some very serious thoughts with him and everyone else... My father did not need a hand striking home down at that time. He needed a hand up... I remember saying into that microphone, "no matter how far you have fallen or walked away, you are not beyond forgiveness, love and mercy". I was talking to him... I handed the microphone over to another person and walked outside the church... I was in tears candidly. I walked around the outside of the church and came in the opposite side doorway. Strangely enough... Amongst filled seating everywhere... A place was open right next to my father. I walked over and sat down beside him. He had tears in his eyes... I only saw my father like that maybe 5 times ever. I grabbed his hand and just held it. Later in the parking lot he told me he was proud of me and that I did a good job in there. I knew I had reached him somewhere somehow.. Just a day or so later I called him and he was as sober as I have heard him in years and years. I know he was really trying to stop drinking on his own... I also knew he could not do that in all likelihood. He did not make it. He never did...

My father was a good, good man in many ways... The drinking just hid that person more and more with time.

I did all I could do within my own abilities. That is all I could have done. My father did know that without question I loved him. It was just a hard circumstance dealing with him a lot of the time.

My father avoided being a person on the street drinking all the time by just a matter of luck and happenstance and a few right choices in his life.