| Author |
Message |
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 9:21 pm 
Well, isn't it more acceptable to her detractors than just going on free trips to exotic places?
I mean given that she isn't going to bow to demands to eschew the whole show idea and go back to long shifts as a nurse, I would think that helping at a food bank is no more egregious than it is to have the Biggest Loser contestants and cross promote and go .. work at a food bank, as they have on several occasions.. or for Bachelor/ette contestants to do some form of good work while on their show.. it is a pretty common thing and if it helps the food bank and the whole concept of food banks to get publicity (or St Judes or whatever charity they may visit)
But I'm thinking she could have gotten a free few days at a beach house or a trip somewhere, or.. gone to work at a food bank and then a soup kitchen, for the same income.
|
Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 9:24 pm
The bottom line is that charities are being helped. Those hungry people are thinking of eating, not whether Kate is paid to be there or not.
So I guess it's better to have people go hungry. I can't wrap my head around that thinking
|
Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Tuesday, June 21, 2011 - 9:31 pm
I was just trying to point out it's easier to be charitable when you get payed for it. Yes, it's wonderful that people are actually being helped, but while they get a few meals, Kate & Co. get a lot of money being filmed for their TV show. It's not really like she is being charitable since she gets payed. ANd YES, it's ok for her to make money for her family. She has to. But don't call it charity when it isn't. She gets a big paycheck.
|
Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 6:36 am
Speaking as a faithful volunteer at Second Harvests food bank of TN, we are happy to have help from any and everybody any and all of the time. We serve 46 counties of TN - out of 95 in the state. One of the "financial" magazines runs a survey each year posting how much money "given" to charities actually reaches the intended parties. We are ALWAYS in the mid to high 90's percentage. For every dollar we receive, we are able to provide FOUR meals to shelters, community feeding programs, etc.
Of my ten volunteer commitments, this is the one closest to my heart - getting down off my soapbox now!
Thanks, Debra, for catching the location!
|
Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 8:26 am
Lending or selling her celebrity to help is okay by me as it provides lots of attention for the charity. And that is bound to bring in more donations than if she and the kids had never showed up.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 8:57 am
The charity isn't paying her, the network is. And speaking as one who does a lot of work for charities, we would absolutely LOVE for a celebrity to come help out, have it be filmed, and get tv exposure. It's an absolute blessing to that charity.
|
Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 9:03 am
I got the feeling that Kate would have wanted to do this even if she hadn't been filmed. I think filming it was a good idea because it was interesting for me. If I found it interesting, I know other viewers did as well. (I really liked the ep a lot. I'm also glad they showed us footage of her saying that the kids could hang back or go back to the bus if they wanted to.)
Her personality and tone of voice and facial expressions may rub me the wrong way at times, but I think she is a good person and a good mom. I think it is a great thing for her to instill those values (of charity of counting your blessings) in her children.
I find Kate a bit more likeable now. She seems under much less stress. The kids are older, divorce has been final for awhile, no DWTS or book tours. All of that was quite stressful for her. (By the way, I think it was a good thing she did DWTS and book tours.)
|
Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 10:03 am
Do any of us know how much charity work she may be doing that isn't filmed but done on the off season?
|
Watching2
Member
07-07-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 10:55 am
Nope! 
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 1:27 pm
TNT, do you find children/groups including children who come to help out at your food bank, seem to gain some awareness our of the experience? It would be nice to think that some come back again to help out.
I know lots of high school kids do some volunteer stints and it seems often it is mostly to put on a resume or college applications but once in awhile..
Like last year at one Relay for Life event where I went to help out in the morning with registration, many of those volunteering were students from various high school Key Clubs and they all seemed like bright, nice kids who were high achievers and such. And they mostly worked when and where told to work but then spent much of the time in groups, laughing, gossiping with each other and basically ignoring the people walking, many of whom were cancer patients or survivors or families. I noted that the Survivor Tent was just full of these kids, so it was not performing as a respite or resource as it usually does at these events. And when a group of these volunteers were given the medallions that they were to hand to those completing the Survivor Lap I noticed that they were putting on the medallions, taking pictures of each other and joking about "surviving". I did quietly mention to them that there were actual cancer survivors/patients nearby and that this "could" be a bit upsetting. That, they did seem to hear.
Anyway, there seemed to be a lack of awareness which of course might just be because of their age, but still was eye opening.
There was one of the boys who really took his jobs to heart and he was so earnest.. he got the job of offering big stickers to anyone walking and asking them to sign pledges to help promote more birthdays which was an Am Cancer Society catch phrase last year. I guess if even one kid is enlightened, that's something. I never got a chance to talk to him, but wondered if perhaps his family had been closely touched by cancer. Unfortunately the other teens in his group were sort of laughing at him at times.
Anyway, even if just one of the young Gosselins really "got" it, that's good.
|
Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 3:10 pm
Sea - I think that both kids and adults that "see the face(s)" have a much better chance of realizing that giving time/money/food/etc. makes a difference in the lives of other people.
Food sorting does not give that sort of exposure.
However, things like working in Christmas toy stores at community centers, delivering Meals on Wheels in the summer, and working events like Project Homeless Connect gives volunteers a much better chance to see that it isn't a problem, it is a person.
Groups of teens doing ANYTHING in the whole world can be a challenge. There is not a herd of sheep anywhere in the world that can rival the herd mentality of many teens. I think this is probably what you saw at the cancer walk -
Many of our private schools require volunteer hours for graduation. Some of the kids get a genuine appreciation for serving others and some get graduation hours. I sorta think that the outcome can be affected by the onsite mentoring the kids get. Divide and conquer is an excellent strategy! One teen and one adult is going to probably have a better result than 25 teens and one adult!
Hands on Nashville (HON) has a really big teen component - mostly kids who really want to be of service to their community. They have their own service projects and teen leaders with an adult supervisor. Teens are also welcome to participate in the other projects with permission from their parents.
Aren't you glad you asked?
|
Cricket
Member
08-05-2002
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 5:27 pm
The charity isn't paying her, the network is. And speaking as one who does a lot of work for charities, we would absolutely LOVE for a celebrity to come help out, have it be filmed, and get tv exposure. It's an absolute blessing to that charity.
Herein lies the problem. This woman is NOT a celebrity. What she is doing is extending her show and her time in front of the camera. I pity the charity people who have to work with her.
|
Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 6:09 pm
Wow
|
Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 6:11 pm
From Wikepedia:
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile in the media and is easily recognized. Celebrity status might be associated with certain professions and frequent appearances in the media. It can arise as a result of career planning but it can also arise by accident or as a result of infamy.
|
Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 6:14 pm
She's a celebrity.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 7:19 pm
She's a celebrity and there are plenty of people who ARE excited to meet her family.
TNT, I AM glad I asked! And I agree that if you get the teens one on one.. like when we have one or two HS students working at the precinct for an election, they are much more engaged with the work and with interacting with the adults and people voting. But in groups.... yeah... not so easy.
And I agree that really seeing the faces is huge. And while I'd have fun packing stuff (and be able to imagine who was benefitting, it really IS different to interact, hear the stories.)
In fact I got a great big lump in my throat when I read those paper plates.. was happy that Kate made sure the kids at least were aware of them, in the warehouse and I think it is a super way to remind anyone in the warehouse just who they are doing it for and why.
All types of volunteering is necessary but I'm one who mostly must wade right in there.. that's why I worked on the hotline for so long for rape crisis and why I chose to be with women in the er for exams and work with survivors in support groups and why now I choose to drive cancer patients. I'd be terrible at calling to ask for money! I enjoyed filling vases with daffodils and putting in the info cards but I got much more when we were meeting each patient and offering them the flowers and talking a bit.
Kate may want to take the kids back to St Judes now that they are older.. but the only drawback there is that kids often are kept out of oncology units because so many of the kid patients have such bad immune systems that sometimes it is hard even for siblings to visit.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 7:34 pm
Herein lies the problem. This woman is NOT a celebrity. What she is doing is extending her show and her time in front of the camera. I pity the charity people who have to work with her.
All I can say, is what I said before. She gave that wonderful charity television exposure that will increase their donations and help their program. As I said, I wish my charity were so lucky to have her!
FWIW, again, as one who has done charitable work for a long time, we've had to court and work with people who are a lot more difficult than Kate. Trust me on that one!
|
Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 8:07 pm
Charity events and celebrity contributions to charity events are an odd mix. People at these events often seem to spend a lot of money (and sometimes effort) to collect money. At times I want to just yell something like "Just give them the money!" but I think these events motivate people to participate and give.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 11:49 pm
And you have to watch how the money is spent. I read an article quite recently that talked about how so many of the "walks" for various charities can be quite heavy on the overhead. They mentioned the Avon Walk (the one that takes three days and requires a fairly heavy money committment from each walker, but also feeds and houses them along the way) as using I believe it was 55% of the donations ON the walk. They mentioned Relay for Life at using only 2% of the donations, since so much of what happens at each relay event is locally sponsored and donated.. so you have to investigate.
But what I saw at that food bank seemed so basically and bottom line helpful. Hungry people find it hard to work, or learn in school and are less likely to stay healthy.
And what I saw of the "event" looked to be pretty straightforward.. cameras, Gosselins, a crowd.. publicity. And, hopefully, awareness.
I know I'm more aware because I read about local foodbanks in my paper, and I learn from TNT and Julieboo (and the documentary she recommended), and Biggest Loser and even Kate + 8 about such operations.
I know more about groups using horses in wonderful ways from people like Karuuna and from following a wonderful little guy named Cade as he recovers from a stroke caused by a brain tumor or actually by the surgery. And his father is a most eloquent blogger so I've heard all about his inpatient rehab, and outpatient rehab, chemo AND his hippotherapy.. which uses horses. And what a beautiful thing it is.
I'm inspired and humbled most days to be interacting with so many wonderful people dealing with cancer. I can tell you that parents of kids with cancer jump at chances to raise awareness of the needs of those kids and the need for more research and more resources.
But I totally get what you are saying Jimmer.. I'm not big on galas and fancy dinners but if they are done right, all that stuff for the event is donated, by organizations who may or may not get publicity and money is hopefully made for the core cause and if it is done right, awareness is raised too.
|
Lilfair
Member
07-09-2003
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 6:16 am
I'm just afraid the kids will think doing charity functions is a way to promote TV shows for mom. I'd be more impressed if they did these types of giving of their time off camera. I think the kids are getting old enough to figure out that everything mom and the producers do is for TV. The kids will figure out that moms first love is doing her reality TV show. They certainly will figure out that the TV show trumped their father and then it'll dawn on them the TV show trumps them too in moms eyes. The whole idea that continuing the show is the only way this family can survive financially is a farce.
|
Texannie
Member
07-15-2001
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 8:51 am
she very well could be. we don't know what she does off carmera..cause, well, it's off camera! LOL
|
Lazylu
Member
04-09-2010
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 9:26 am
I have never seen anything that would make me think the show is more important than her kids.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 9:27 am
I'm not sure why kids on a tv show should be singled out for possible bad parenting - except that we get to see what's going on, at least part of it. I know way too many families who *don't* have their children EVER participate in any kind of charity work, so I think it's a good thing that Kate is, whatever her reasons. The work still gets done, and the privileged position that they are in brings publicity to an organization that is obviously greatly appreciative.
As for gala events, the simple fact is that in spite of the large overhead, they raise more money than they do in other, quieter fundraisers. It's simply a fact that people like to give *visibly* rather than invisibly, and like to socialize with other givers. In the industry, we go by the three R's for our donors - Recruit, Retain, Reward (also known as recognize). So that's why we do them. It's part of the third R that keeps people feeling like they belong to and have ownership of the charity that keeps them giving, year after year.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 10:45 am
If they tried to volunteer "off camera", unless it was tucked away from public access, then of course there would be no publicity FOR the charity. And undoubtedly the paps would manage to snap them coming or going or whatever and then THEY would make the big bucks.
I'd rather have the publicity for the charity and any money made going to the charity, the kids and Kate.
I don't buy that she single handedly parted from Jon but Jon is in the kids' lives and so they have divorced parents like a giant percentage of kids all over the country.
I cannot possibly read her mind about what is important, but I'd say her kids trump all as much or more than the average mom. Many moms make their money by being AWAY from home and children for many hours on many days and they aren't bad moms either
Kar, I do understand about gala events, IF there is money to be had from the big rollers. They just aren't events for me unless there is clear evidence that having an enthusiastic volunteer that they can meet will cause them to donate more. So I'm more likely to do that at less exciting venues where we hope to recruit actual drivers, since Am Cancer Society is based on the massive share of services being provided by fewer employees and many volunteers. And I also prefer to be the driver one on one. Sure we could send a cab but I've never talked to a single cancer patient who prefers that option.
But I've also seen events put on where all the costs and services OF the gala are donated and that is totally cool!
Maybe if some of those donors could "work the soup kitchen" or "drive the patient" or whatever that charity actually does, they'd be rewarded in that way, instead of having to attend yet another event.
I have heard of some events being more like what Jimmer mentioned, where they pretend to have the event but instead just donate and get recognition in some way.
I think Kate has attended some big charity events but of course she gets endless criticism and is hounded by paparazzi too. So I vote for going to the food bank with the kids.
|
Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 11:59 am
there have certainly been some attempts at 'non-event' events in recent years, and they usually work once.
the thing is, we are social creatures by nature. These events provide a sense of belonging, a camaraderie, a chance to tell the story of the charity, and as you noted, often are fully funded by donations.
We do them because they work. Believe me, they are a tremendous drain on staff, and a lot of work to put together. So if there were other better ways of raising money, we'd do them!
|
|
|
|
