Re: Shopper tired of donating at the cash register (Letters, March 2)
I, too, am tired of dodging buskers, the homeless and youth organizations outside retail stores.
Nor am I polite when asked for charitable donations at the checkout. Last Christmas, I left $300 worth of merchandise at the till when asked for a $2 charitable donation. I told the clerk, the manager and a long line of shoppers I would return to the store when they were back in the business of selling merchandise, rather than panhandling for charity.
Further, I question the integrity of liquor stores and their employees when they ask for donations for a dry grad. Most high school students are 18 years old, under the legal age to purchase alcohol. Donating to a dry grad reminds me of paying a burglar not to rob your home.
Gone are the days when youth organizations cut lawns or shovelled snow to earn money. Today they want donations, not jobs.
As a baby boomer, I will likely be working two years longer to receive Old Age Security, the government’s donation to seniors. Charities will have a long wait to receive money from me.
Marlene Lewis
Esquimalt