School supply scam
Being experienced with food and clothing banks for the needy, I need to give advice to generous folks (including businesses) thinking about donating money and/or school supplies to children before fall classes begin.
First, don’t do it. Like giving free money to panhandlers on the street who use the cash for their weed, cigarette and liquor purchases, the parent(s) of these children supposedly benefiting from free school supplies are enabled to buy high-end cellphones, expensive tattoos, piercings, weed, cigarettes, and other sundry items for themselves when others give their children free things. This is a sad but true fact. Responsible parents should be supplying their own children with proper school supplies — not strangers feeding the addictions of parent(s) who know that they won’t have this responsibility if well meaning enablers step in.
Second, I recommend diverting your charity (money and time) to well-known organizations like Red Cross, Salvation Army, et cetera, that will best help those in need. You can rest assured that these donations will be used for emergencies to help people in dire need and won’t be used unnecessarily.
Jon Hall
Chattaroy