I was recently asked by one of our guests if the hotel had some sort of charity programme they could donate to. I couldn't come up with an answer and so told them to speak to reception about it. In honesty, there is a pay-roll-deduction programme set up for staff to donate a part of their salary to charity. I don't know anyone who has signed up for it. I don't mean to make excuses, but I'm a student on barely minimum wage who gets tipped about as often as a neurotic squirrel finds a nut; I need all the money I can get.
However, my thoughts drifted to a charitable organisation, which I won't name, that meet at the hotel every week. They dine in the restaurant, and drink in the bar.
Given the numbers of members and the price of dinner, I worked out that excluding drinks they pay the hotel £1000 a week. With drinks included it's between £1100 and £1200. Over the course of the year, they spend a minimum of £57200 at the hotel.
Admittedly, whenever they meet they pull out their cheque books and pay their membership fees. In truth I do not know if this money goes to paying for the dinner, if it covers their admin costs, or if a part of it actually goes to charity. Even if the cheque was aimed solely towards charity, would £57200 not be a nice little 'boost'? What could you do with that money if it was used in the right way?
I discussed the figures with my flatmate and she said she thinks they're all posers. The charitable organisation is just an excuse to meet once a week, eat dinner, get drunk, and be sociable.
A cynical view perhaps, but at £57200 a year I'm inclined to agree.
However, I'm not exactly contributing at all so am I even one to judge?
About Me
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- Whilst I used to get idiots inebriated on over-priced drinks, I'm now in the position of management where I have to deal with the results...
4 comments:
We used to have a charity box but it got stolen last Christmas :-(. Security chased them but they had a car waiting. Organised charity box crime...what is this country coming to!
People are as people do: if there's a bunch of people willing to spend big amounts on themselves at the bar, that's what they do. They could do that talking about golf, politics, the weather, sport or sex. Perhaps this bunch do just that. Or, perhaps, once in a while, they organise a charity dinner or a golf match to raise some funds for something worthwhile. It all counts.
As one who works with a charity, I'm happy if our committee comes up with a useful idea. As far as I'm concerned, they can drink whatever and wherever they like to get it! I'll even make the tea for them if they like...
If you're really concerned about giving to charity, then why not save all your 1 and 2ps? Then once a month you could donate that to charity. It might not be much but it all helps.
It's sad that people will steal charity boxes and the like. The ones we have are literally chained down.
Where I work someone put little cardboard boxes for charity donations next to the drinks machines, as people often left odd coppers around, but within a few days, all the boxes had been torn open where people where stealing change to get drinks.
We also have that "pay from your wageslip" thing, and I vividly remember the woman from the "organisation" coming in and seeing every single member of staff personally, literally "bullying" them in front of their colleagues to sign up. "Don't you want to stop babies dying from cot deaths?", that sort of dialoge... :-(
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