I give money to charity. I don’t mind doing it, I like doing it and I’ll keep doing it. While I don’t give gigantic amounts, I give what I can. I don’t expect anything in return for giving money to charity (except maybe a little good karma every now and again). In fact, this concept is a basic tenet of Judaism. It’s called tzedakah and it is one of the 613 mitzvahs.
I try to be a good person, and giving tzedakah is one of the ways I do that. And my job makes it extremely simple to give. For instance, I can have money taken directly out of my paycheck (it comes out of my net pay, not my gross) and given to any charity I choose (from a given list). I can buy Girl Scout cookies or other items from co-workers. I can even participate in fundraisers that directly benefit our employee charitable campaign, which is something I would do almost daily.
In my building, there was an ongoing snack sale where we could buy snacks and sodas for cheap ($.25, $.50). There was a little jar that we would put our money in and, at the end of the day, someone from the committee would collect money. It was a great system, and no one monitored the jar because–let’s face it–we’re adults and can be trusted. Apparently, not so much.
Last Friday, we received an email that the snack and soda sale would be discontinued indefinitely because someone has been stealing the money out of the jar. This infuriated me! First of all, in what direction does your moral compass point that you need to steal money from charity? Second, it’s not as if this was massive amounts of money; we’re talking maybe $20 at the end of the day. Third, and this is the selfish part of me, I’m pissed that I can’t get my $.50 sodas anymore! I did not mind paying $.50 for a soda because the money went to charity. I will not spend $1.50 for a soda from the vending machine for the money to go straight to the vendor.
Stealing from charity is deplorable. It is theft and the perpetrator should be prosecuted. Or at least be forced to pay the money back anonymously. I’m hoping that the shame he or she feels for stealing the money is enough punishment that public humiliation is not necessary. Though, right now, I’d love to put the thief in a stockade and throw tomatoes at him (or her).
Some people just don't see this as wrong, or they are desperate or they get a thrill from this method of entertainment. Too bad for everyone.
We had something similar to that happen at the school I worked at. But people weren't stealing the money… They would take a snack and not put in money. I guess they assumed they would pay it back when they got around to it, but they never did. It is infuriating! You wouldn't go to a store, steal something with the intention to pay them back and then never do it. Why would you think this is ok? I completely understand how you feel.
That is definitely a terrible act! I can't believe that someone would do that. But then again, we keep seeing greed, selfishness, and other sinful traits all the time. It's just really shocking to see it on this level.
That is a really rotten thing to do. How anyone steals from a charity just baffles me.
Judy
"Stealing from charity is deplorable." Your statement says it all!
Yeah, it's sad. Some people just don't get it, and can rationalize bad behavior. Shame. I can understand how you'd be so annoyed.
What a rotten thing to do. The kind of person that probably kicks puppies for fun. Definitely deserves rotten tomatoes in the face.
That's pretty awful. I know at our work they had a system where you bought bottled water, bagels or snacks, and the money went toward a supported fundraiser. The worst that we had happen was that some people were putting in IOUs and then not paying, but after threatening to cut everything off if the money didn't start flowing in, people got back to paying. But as far as I know, nobody ever took the money, which is pretty pathetic.
Wow, I don't know how that person can sleep at night. Karma is a bitch, it will come back to bite them…