I am for what’s right morally for the people and environment and as such I receive petitions in the mail and on the internet and sign them. Also I receive many phone calls from them as well. There are some problems I have with all these petitions and phone calls. The first is they are all begging for money, even though you send them some once in a while and they still continue to ask for more. Can’t they understand many of the people to which they send these petitions or make phone calls are on fixed or with little income? I and many others are in that category and get tired of constant phone calls and letters to hand over some more money even though they are worthwhile organizations, some of which are pretty lucrative.
Another problem is the huge amount of information they send out in the mail—sometimes eight or nine pages of it. As an activist myself I have learned to look for the action line as I do not have time to read all their material and simply look for the action line which is generally at the end of their cover letter.
In this connection those organizations that send out all these mailings who claim to love and care for the environment particularly our forests which also serve as a habitat for our wildlife over which many are also concerned, don’t they realize with the enormous amount of paper material they send us that it means more trees are cut down and less habitat for that wildlife. And I am sick and tired of constantly filling up my trash baskets with all the material they send me.
And here is another problem I have with these organizations. If they are so desperate for money why in the name of heaven do they enclose quarters, nickels and dimes with their solicitation along with offers to win prizes along with free postage paid envelopes that they will pay out if you participate. This really turns me and others off big time. Then on top of that they get their sister orgarnations to send you solicitations also and your mail box and inbox starts receiving 40 or more mailings each day. And finally here is the last problem; they take advantage of bulk mailing rates which means they can send much more material at a lower cost than we could and that simply is not fair.
I can assure you many people are getting fed up with this and are now returning the material with a note not to send any more. I know a friend doing this who is rapidly turning against these groups which in the past she has so ardently supported because of this situation
This is not helping these groups and they need to know it and stop doing things that turn people off from supporting them.
Even the constant phone calls are also annoying. They come at times when we are busy or eating. And of course they want money. Well as one who has accepted the Lord my favorite response to the Christian organizations that call is what Paul and Barnabas said to the beggar which I have paraphrased—“neither silver nor gold do I have but I have many talents to give as letter writing, making phone calls and signing petitions”, and they quickly get the message and back off saying how much they appreciate my efforts in that capacity.
These organizations if they wish to survive need to know what is annoying the public which is causing them to lose support and financial assistance which they at times desperately need. If they need money don’t send free offers, coins in the mail and free envelopes AND PLEASE KEEP IT SHORT. We are busy people and support many groups and have our own lives to live as well and really don’t have the time to read lengthy letters along with much other material they send us.
Sometimes those of us living on fixed incomes think wouldn’t it be nice if we could stick our hand out and get some money, too. We certainly need as much as they do and sometimes more.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!