Doing stuff for charity... am I missing the point?

[BrilloPad]

I read that those people who raise money for charity doing extreme stunts like parachuting cost the NHS more in broken limbs than they raise.

[minestrone]

I once had a crazy notion to go to Africa to help them dig wells and build houses / walls etc.

Until some on here pointed out my plane ticket there and back would probably pay for an army of builders for a months work and that I was being a

That might have been me, or at least I was in the group that picked apart the logic of your ill fated expedition plans.

You would have taken half the village's food supply anyway

[Old Hack]

d000hg - Spreading gods word of love and peace since 2008

[Old Hack]

I do regular bike rides for charity; this year will be Glasgow to Bristol with a group of friends. What do I get out of it? Corporate sponsorship from a couple of people who take part ensures we raise a fair amount of money, but once you go through some pain, day in day out, and push yourself to the point of not wanting to continue, but carrying on, gives both a sense of achievement hard to create from simply writing applications day in day out.

I spend a good 5-7 days a year doing this, losing out on earnings and paying for my travel, hotels and food, but wouldn't miss it for the world.

I guess it's also harder spending time with good friends as your family gets larger, and older.

[darmstadt]

Grim reading: America's Worst Charities

[Old Greg]

A lot of people have very little money left for food after they've paid out for the essentials .... like smokes, drink, a new tattoo and satellite TV sub.

It's not always about you.

[d000hg]

Hey, it is your prerogative to be a tightwad if you like d000hg. Nobody is holding a gun to your head.

Blessed are the poor and all that..............or not, apparently.

This isn't about what I do or don't give - I give because I want to give and eschew sponsoring anyway. I think I'm reasonably generous in my giving, but the people doing this could have raised more for their charity by paying the entrance fees directly to the charity if nobody sponsored them at all.

are you thick or just trolling?

Just asking like.

Let's call it playing devil's advocate. I'm not angry people do this, or planning to confront them with a reason it's silly, just interested what other people thought about it. After all the experience might be great, but what are the people unable to feed their children going to be more impressed by, people climbing a mountain or food on the table?

[SueEllen]

I read that those people who raise money for charity doing extreme stunts like parachuting cost the NHS more in broken limbs than they raise.

But in doing so they learn a lot about the NHS and give freely to hospices.

[SueEllen]

Let's call it playing devil's advocate. I'm not angry people do this, or planning to confront them with a reason it's silly, just interested what other people thought about it. After all the experience might be great, but what are the people unable to feed their children going to be more impressed by, people climbing a mountain or food on the table?

To be fair the fact that they have taken time out to put themselves in pain can inspire them to do things like volunteering, which while painless in the physical exertion stakes is high in the frustration stakes.

[BrilloPad]

But in doing so they learn a lot about the NHS and give freely to hospices.

Could they not take out insurance in case they get injured? I know the NHS is there for those according to need - but why pay for those who put themselves in danger? Or even those who get legless?

Shouldn't people take some sort of responsibility for their actions?

And if they want to learn about the NHS become a nurse.