Post by fangoriagurkel on Oct 25, 2014 9:00:36 GMT -5
A workmate put a poster up from a local radio show soliciting handwritten letters that will be delivered to troops deployed on Thanksgiving. Their mission statement starts out "We believe..." which automatically made me think of those wishy washy celebrity charities that no clear direction or goals.
It's come up once in conversation where it was deemed eye roll worthy (not by me) so now I'm second guessing myself and whether this campaign fulfills an actual need.
This is not a huge time commitment. It would take five, maybe ten minutes to write a letter to a soldier who is not celebrating the holidays with family, but eating their dinner in a DFAC with a hundred other soldiers. Regardless of their mission statement, I'd write (and have written) letters. Maybe more than one.
Soldiers love letters. Seems like an easy enough thing to do.
It seemed reminiscent of celeb charities who want to stop bullying through beauty or the like. It seemed like something you do to make yourself feel better vs something that actually needs to be done (like volunteering with a local food bank, etc...). Maybe the prolife shower has made me suspicious of intentions.
Soldiers love letters. Seems like an easy enough thing to do.
It seemed reminiscent of celeb charities who want to stop bullying through beauty or the like. It seemed like something you do to make yourself feel better vs something that actually needs to be done (like volunteering with a local food bank, etc...). Maybe the prolife shower has made me suspicious of intentions.
It's. Writing. Letters. To. Military. Members. Because people like to get mail. Because it's hard to be away from home on thanksgiving.
That is the mission. Voila. Write a letter or don't.
I write letters for thanksgiving and for Christmas. Because I like getting mail that isn't bills and I figure they're the same.
Soldiers love letters. Seems like an easy enough thing to do.
It seemed reminiscent of celeb charities who want to stop bullying through beauty or the like. It seemed like something you do to make yourself feel better vs something that actually needs to be done (like volunteering with a local food bank, etc...). Maybe the prolife shower has made me suspicious of intentions.
But if they're asking for people to write letters to soldiers, and people write letters to soldiers ... I can't even form the end to this question, because I seriously can't figure out what your problem with it is.
I feel like I'm missing something here. All the want is a letter, not your time or money? Why do you care what the mission statement starts out with, this is one of the easiest (and cheapest) things a charity organization can ask you to do. You are over thinking this.
Please come back and explain the conversation that took place, I'm obviously missing something major here. I don't think I know the mission statements of some charities I support, nor do I care. Even if this is a religious organization, I don't see where they are pushing any agenda. Letters for soldiers away from home always = a nice thing to do.
Post by bohemianmango on Oct 25, 2014 11:33:35 GMT -5
That's why I stopped listening to Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All." I mean, what were her intentions starting with "I believe?"
Really though, it sounds like a worthwhile charity. If you're wary of their mission, just move along and find another one in which you have no reservations.
Post by RoxMonster on Oct 25, 2014 11:37:04 GMT -5
I mean, if they didn't really have a clear mission and were asking for you to send them $500 in the mail "just because, no questions asked," then yeah, I'd be suspicious. Sure.
But they aren't even asking for money. They're asking you to write a letter. I can't see how someone with ulterior motives would even benefit from a letter. They can't do anything with it. It's just a nice thing to do for someone.
Post by PeonyParty on Oct 25, 2014 11:52:01 GMT -5
As a person who was deployed during the holidays- a letter means everything to those deployed. Holiday or not. It's something that takes no money, almost no time and can make a world of difference. A better question would be- why NOT devote (a small amount of) time to this charity?
Post by killercupcake on Oct 25, 2014 11:56:16 GMT -5
Letters are totally scammy. I got one from a Nigerian prince once and that jerk didn't even send me my share of my 1 billion dollar inheritance after I sent him a reply and check for the transfer fees. So I see your hesitation.
Lol, it's not even that the mission statement was unclear or misleading! Her objection to it was simply because it started with "We believe..."
I think she's just trying to start something and was hoping the board's anti-military contingent would get up in arms with her and run with it. Womp, womp.
I should have clarified the "We believe" bit better but I meant that it struck me as a fluff statement. I wasn't sure if military members would appreciate letters or if there was something more concrete that could be beneficial.
Post by fangoriagurkel on Oct 25, 2014 13:24:46 GMT -5
And as for writing to strangers and whomever asked about getting their child involved, I just googled military appreciation letter templates and found some good info!