Cat anthology

I recently found out, quite by accident, that one of my cat stories was accepted in an anthology book. This was news to me because I hadn’t received an acceptance letter or a disclaimer.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that this was a story I submitted in 2015. When I asked for more information the publisher of the book was rather vague.

What struck me as odd was that I didn’t receive a free copy of the book. The person who published the book told me that, because this book was for the benefit of shelter cats, none of the contributors received anything. At most, contributors could get a free ebook.

This is my opinion is not good business. Yes, to supply every contributor with a real book would require an investment, but $100 investment is sure to pay off. After all, contributing writers would want to show off their work, thus generating sales.

In comparison, just to name a few …

When I contributed to Chicken Soup for the Soul I received 10 free copies.

When I contributed to Green Prints I received two free copies.

When I contributed to The Spirit of St. Louis I received one free copy

Don't get me wrong, it’s not the free copy I’m after, or money from sales, as an animal lover I’m quite willing to do my bit for the adoption of shelter animals, but if one is going to start a project to help them, be professional about it.

For starters, have the courtesy of notifying contributors that their story is accepted and supply them with at least one free book. That one free book might generate ten or more sales.

When I looked up the cat organization proceeds of the book would be donated to, they made no mention of the book. This struck me as odd too.

You would expect that if you were to receive money from a book sale, you would put that book on the homepage of your website along with a link where it could be purchased. You would also write a blog post about it, thanking the publisher and the writers for their effort. As any good marketer will tell you, sales depend on exposure.

Finally, I found it strange that the person lives in Las Vegas but promised the proceeds of her book to a cat organization in Florida. This makes no sense to me.

Once a year I act as a fundraiser for the Toronto Cat Rescue. I live in Toronto so I support this local cat shelter organization. I approach just about everyone to make a donation. Some of my friends, who are scattered in various parts of the world, are nice and send a donation, others decline stating that they support a local organization. Which is their good right. While I appreciate their support, I can understand why someone in Paris prefers to support Parisian animals vs. Toronto animals.

As it turned out, the publisher stated that she would remove my story as she didn’t want to do business with me. Business? What is her concept of business? We were not in business,

to begin with. Business is when money changes hands and that was, or wouldn’t be, the case. This was for charity and where it comes to charity it’s not about the individual, it's about the cause.

Forgive me for being skeptical, but when I hear the word "charity" I'm instantly suspicious. I've seen too much charity fraud to blindly trust anyone.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Would you pity her?

Soon my blog will celebrate its sixth anniversary and over the years many readers have asked me where I find inspiration for my posts. One word … Facebook. Whenever I’m short on inspiration, all have to do is scroll through the Facebook posts and something is sure to jump out at me.

Take today for instance. Someone posted a video of a 22-year old African American woman that was aimed to gear up sympathy for the woman’s "dire" situation.

She works at McDonalds at minimum wage, she had a young kid, and has to make do with what she earns, plus what she gets from child support, plus government assistance.

After seeing the video, I got to thinking and watched it again and again and I found quite a few interesting details.

She complained that she only earns minimum wage at McDonalds. Well, at least she has a job. Millions of people don’t and for one reason or another are refused unemployment benefits.

My neighbor also used to work for McDonalds, but he didn’t stay there. He went to night school, put himself through college and obtained a government job.

The woman lives in a two story house with a beautiful big kitchen. Now it so happens that I have friends and acquaintances who are not exactly well off and I can tell you, none of them live in a two story house. One lives in a cheap apartment, the second shares an apartment with a roommate, the third lives in a trailer and the forth rents one room in a house.

None of these people have children (they can't afford them) so they don’t have the benefit of child support and when they applied for government assistance, they were turned down. Subsequently they turned to The Salvation Army, United Way, and other charities and were sent packing.

The woman in the video states that she only buys frozen foods (as fresh food might spoil and be wasted). Not very smart in my opinion. Frozen food is the most expensive. Take carrots for instance. A tin of carrots costs 65 cents, a bushel of fresh carrots costs 99 cents, while a packet of frozen carrots costs $2.45. If she’s worried about wasting food, she can go to the market on a daily basis for what she needs.

She complains that she had to have a tooth pulled because she couldn’t afford root canal. 

I have news for her, I know quite a few people, working people with medical insurance, who can’t afford root canal either. As for me … I wouldn’t want root canal if you offered it to me for free. 

As for the woman herself … she is African American, yet she has long glossy hair. This indicates a) her hair is straightened, b) has extensions, or c) is a wig. Either way, an expensive look.

As for her clothing … she is seen wearing a GAP T-shirt. Anyone who has ever shopped for clothing knows that GAP is an expensive store. Her jacket I recognized as Tommy Hilfiger (designer gear). Some might say that her T-shirt and jacket are knock-offs, but knock off items are still more expensive than no-name clothing.

All in all, my less than rich friends would trade places with this woman any day. She has a job, she lives in a furnished two story house, she receives child support and government assistance … what exactly is she complaining about?

Charity vs. people

Anyone see this article in the Huffington Post? 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/warren-buffett-giving-pledge-new-members_n_1896882.html?utm_hp_ref=impact&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

While these businessmen probably have the right idea, it’s not a good idea.  For one, it’s a non-binding agreement, so who is to say that they actually give half of their wealth away?

Wouldn’t it be far better to encourage businessmen to expand their businesses and as such create jobs for those who need them?  That would give people money, not charities.

I don’t like charities.  Never have.  What do they do with the money they receive?  Do they put it to good use, or does it stick to a number of people’s fingers?

And why is some of the text written in pink?  Does that mean that part of that money will go to the Breast Cancer Society?  Gosh I hope not.  Just exactly how much money has been donated to the Breast Cancer Society?  Millions and millions, and women are still dying every day.  I say STOP DONATING, and a cure will be revealed.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one who thinks this way.  I’ve spoken to a number of people who wholeheartedly agree with me.  There is a cure, but it’s more profitable for the Cancer Society to keep people in the dark.  When a cure is revealed, donations will dry up.  Can’t let that happen.

As one person said … “Years of research and millions of dollars and they can’t even come up with a drug that doesn’t cause hair to fall out.”

And why always the Breast Cancer Society?  Why about other types of cancers?  Not good enough for publicity?

This charity giving should stop.  Why not give the money to ordinary people who need it?  People who, for one reason or another, don’t qualify for welfare and work “day and night” for pittance to support themselves.  They exist, I assure you, I know quite a few of them personally. 

Give money to those in need of medical help, but who have to do without because they don’t have benefits. 

When you start looking, you’ll see 101 opportunities that are all better than these damn charities.  I worked for both the Cancer Society and a Help the Children of Africa foundation and I know first-hand of mismanagement of funds. 

Let me put it this way, I wouldn’t give one penny to charity.  I am willing to give to an individual, but an organization … NEVER!

Who receives your donation?

The Salvation Army has a long history of donating to the needy.  But who are the needy and what qualifies them to be on the receiving end of your donations?

Recently I wrote to The Salvation Army on behalf of a friend who is definitely needy.  She is a young woman, who lost her job, and battles a number of medical issues that prevent her from working outside her home.

She doesn’t sit and watch the world go by, she puts her writing talents to good use and earns a little money with freelance writing.  A little being the operative word here.  She works from early morning until deep into the night and even then has to rely on friends to make ends meet.

Having visited The Salvation Army’s website, I sent an email to the contact person and asked if my friend qualifies for their help. 
The reply I received asked me a couple of questions:

Was my friend pregnant?

Did she have children under the age of 18?

Did she have an addiction?

My answer was “No” on all counts, to which I received the prompt reply that my friend did not qualify.  To say that I was stumped would be putting it mildly.  Do only pregnant women or women with young children qualify for financial assistance? 

I dug a little deeper and came across two women whose situation puzzled me even more.  One is a mother of five with a sixth on the way.  The other has three children and can’t wait to have a forth.  By their own admission, they are addicted to babies.  They state that a baby is a gift and should never be refused.

Naturally, I wondered … why have children if you can’t provide for them?  And if you can’t provide for the children you have, why have another?  “Oh, The Salvation Army sends us money” they both admitted.

Needless to say, my wallet will remain firmly closed when The Salvation Army asks me for a donation.  I don’t support selfish women who could go out to work but prefer to be on welfare and receive donations.  The days that women had kids by accident are long gone.  These days they have options. 

As for the question if my friend had an addiction … no, she does not.  Why would The Salvation Army ask me that?  Does the fact that an individual is addicted to alcohol, drugs or gambling qualify him/her to receive money? 

Maybe we should all have a good look at charitable organizations and research how the donations are used.  There are undoubtedly organizations that are honest and help those who really deserve help.  But there are just as many, if not more, who take our money and use it for less honorable purposes.

Instead of giving to charitable organizations maybe we should have a look around us at people who need financial assistance and extend our help on a one-on-one basis.  When we give privately, we know exactly who receives our money and what it will be used for.