Forum Topic

Amnesty International Chuggers

My wife has just phoned me in a very bad mood. She was walking along King Street today when she was approached by a chugger trying to persuade people to sign up for direct debits who stepped into her path and asked to speak to her. She smiled, said 'no thank you' and walked on. The chugger shouted down the street after her 'Aw, come on darling.'What this unpleasant little man (who don't forget is not doing this as a volunteer but for commission) didn't realise is that my wife has for many years raised money for Amnesty having been an enthusiastic writer of letters to political prisoners since she was at school. She had already started to become disillusioned with the organisation which she felt was increasingly run for the benefit of the staff rather than those deprived of their liberty for political reasons.With more sadness that anger she has told me that she won't be supporting Amnesty any more. Does anyone have any suggestions for a charity that has the same aims and ethos that Amnesty used to have ten years ago?

Aaron Lewis ● 5484d8 Comments

This is well worth readinghttp://beta.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/11/nick-cohen-is-amnesty-fit-fight

Paul Corcoran ● 4559d

Sorry to revive such an old thread but I thought contributors might be interest to hear what Private Eye had to say about them this week. They have managed to increase contributions in a difficult time for charities but there have also been some very sizeable pay outs to staff including one of over £500,000. At the same time long term employees are being laid off and replaced with highly paid 'consultants'. To be frank it sounds very much like an organisation that has lost its way.

Paul Corcoran ● 4572d

Not sure which charity he belonged to but I got "chugged"  in King Street on Saturday by some guy who tried to stop me by stepping directly in front of me.  When I said I was not going to stop he said he would walk with me!  I said no he would not.  Even if it was for a cause I was passionate about there is no way I would give out personal details, particularly bank details, to somebody in the street.  I do my charity giving by either buying/donating at the relevant shops or signing up on line.

Carol Burge ● 5148d

Chuggers were out in force in Hammersmith this morning. Their tactic seems to be now to target station entrances and nab people on their way to work or college causing general annoyance. The thinking seems to be if you wind people up you can engage them in conversation which may be initially hostile but hopefully you can end by making a sale.

Ellen Kearney ● 5148d

There is another way you can help out - Amnesty International Book Shop in Hammersmith have a half price sale for the rest of the month - they have some great books at bargain prices. So for those who cannot afford to donate regularly - every little helps.

Tina Pemberton ● 5418d

Although we don't suffer from them too badly in Acton I really dislike chuggers. They are often deliberately in your face in this way to try and engage with you. They reflect an increasing professionalisation of the charity industry in which relatively highly paid chief execs are on bonuses determined by funds raised. I suspect a forensic analysis of how these are determined would show that the value for money for the charity of this kind of fund-raising is poor. If you are tempted to sign up with one be aware that the companies who raise money for charities in this way take as much of the first year of your payments. If you want to donate just go to the charity's web site. If you sign up via a chugger you are an idiot.

Andy Jones ● 5446d

The Benenson Society was formed in response to changes in Amnesty International's policy particularly on abortion. Unlike Amnesty it leaves the issue to the individual's conscience.The society is named after Peter Benenson, the Catholic lawyer who founded Amnesty.http://www.benensonsociety.org/

Paul Corcoran ● 5476d

The sad fact is that charity donations are down and there are few alternatives to raising money this way. I would complain to the charity about the behaviour of this individual. These people are not employed by the charity but by private companies who recruit them to sell direct debits.It is far, far better if people sign up with the charity directly because a large part of your donation through chuggers is eaten up in commission but not enough people are doing this.

Karen Cooper ● 5483d