[Durham INC] Fwd: question/ideas

[TheOcean1 at aol.com]

If one of  the goals is to inspire folks to think more carefully about the 
effect of giving  money directly, then questions/suggestions like this 
indicate it's  working!
 
I like the  voucher idea!
 
The idea  of collection cups was tried years ago on 9th street, but 
unfortunately the cups  kept getting stolen. There didn't seem to be a secure way 
of making them  available enough to the donors, and not make them too 
available to thieves at  the same time.
 
It would  take a lot of work, but if we could take a tip from a city in 
Ohio, we'd likely  have the perfect solution.  In Durham it would mean putting 
the parking  meters back up on 9th street. Each meter would list the 
(three?) nonprofits that  benefit from donations.
 
If someone  asks you if you have any spare change, you pull it out of your 
pocket and put it  in the parking meter.
 
I bet we  tossed all those parking meters in the landfill years ago.

Bill  Anderson



 
In a message dated 3/5/2013 10:22:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
interneighborhoodcouncil at gmail.com writes:

INC  received this letter in response to our brochure, "Durham, Can You 
Spare a  Change."  See our website  

_www.CanYouSpareAChange.org_ (http://www.canyouspareachange.org/) 


There are some great ideas here.  Please read and comment!  


John Martin, President
InterNeighborhood Council of Durham

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tracy Feldman <_tracysfeldman at yahoo.com_ 
(mailto:tracysfeldman at yahoo.com) >
Date:  Mon, Mar 4, 2013 at 9:46 PM
Subject: question/ideas
To: "_interneighborhoodcouncil at gmail.com_ 
(mailto:interneighborhoodcouncil at gmail.com) "  <_interneighborhoodcouncil at gmail.com_ 
(mailto:interneighborhoodcouncil at gmail.com) >



 
 
 
 
Dear members of the Inter Neighborhood Council,


I  saw your really interesting brochure the other day at International 
Delights.  I really like what you are doing as an organization.  The brochure  
dealt with giving to shelters rather than panhandlers.  My wife and I  were 
thinking about it, and we brainstormed a couple of ideas.  We  wondered 
whether you might be interested.  


One  thing that might bring more money to the shelters is a collection cup 
in  establishments along 9th street (and other places), if they agree to 
that.  This would serve the purpose of giving people who wish to support  
panhandlers a concrete and immediate alternative, as they might come into an  
establishment after an encounter with a panhandler, feeling like they want to  
support them in some way. Collection cups would give them that option.


Another  thing you may have thought of already--local tender--"vouchers" 
good at any  participating establishment, good for food (or other 
necessities?).  Then  people can give panhandlers vouchers instead of money, and 
panhandlers can get  food (if it's food they want), and they can choose the food 
they want.  Or the vouchers could go into the collection cups for the shelters 
 rather than going right to the panhandlers directly, and the shelters can 
give  them out.  Then it might be less likely to promote panhandling for  
vouchers.  Not sure if this idea is problematic for other reasons, but  
perhaps it could work. Local vouchers of this type are used in lots of places  
(only usable in local establishments), but I don't know of others using them  
in this particular way.  


Let  me know if you want to talk more about this.  I just wanted to share 
some  ideas, in hopes they might be helpful.


Take  care,


Tracy  S.  Feldman












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