[Hilton]

I have added a poll, please vote even if not posting 

If asked by a charity to carry out cleaning at no charge at least twice a month for very vulnerable people in your area would you be prepared to do it ?

The goodwill that goes with such an arrangement could prove to be very productive especially if used in marketing and if the charity allowed you to use their name and logo's.

Reason for asking ?

I have a meeting with a large charity later next week in which this subject will be discussed amongst other things and wanted to gauge opinion as the strength or otherwise of feeling on carrying out philanthropic activities.

[robert meldrum]

Who will benefit from your " donation"

[richy27]

I personally would not work for free regardless if it was for charity. Trouble is if you start this sort of thing you will get loads of charity s wanting the same . 

[mark joyce]

No such thing as a free lunch my friend    Charities are good at pulling heart strings but twice a month is a bit much, now if there is a load of paid work that comes with it yes I would do it.  However there has to be give and take have you seen the amount of money the government pay these establishments to protect theses vulnerable people and they want areas cleaned for free    why springs to mind

[Hilton]

No such thing as a free lunch my friend    Charities are good at pulling heart strings but twice a month is a bit much, now if there is a load of paid work that comes with it yes I would do it.  However there has to be give and take have you seen the amount of money the government pay these establishments to protect theses vulnerable people and they want areas cleaned for free    why springs to mind

Ita a charity the government give them nothing other than charitable status for tax reasons.

[Colin Day]

I cleaned an office carpet for "Shelter Box" a few months ago for free.

I have had nothing back in return apart from feeling good about what I did... oh, and 4 jobs from the staff that work in there, amounting to over £300's worth of work

So yes, if it's a good cause, of course I'd clean for nothing

[Steve Rothwell]

I would..............

once a month we clean a few settees and chairs for a charity in Andover.

No strings just a free clean so that they can sell some of their suites easier than if they were minging.

Sometimes it is not money that makes the world go around.

[Colin Day]

I would..............

once a month we clean a few settees and chairs for a charity in Andover.

No strings just a free clean so that they can sell some of their suites easier than if they were minging.

Sometimes it is not money that makes the world go around.

Very true

[neil 47]

I have done free jobs loads of times .

and never have i got nothing . people dont like something for nothing .did a friends rug .she sent round 4 bottles of wine ,

did the local rugby club chairs where my son has played since 13.gave me some free beer .

so things usualy work out in your favour and you get to feel good about giving

Neil

[Sarah Kirby]

Hilton, its a personal choice. As Hector said, money isn't everything. If you go for it, good for you. You may get some paid work from it and it would probably boost your reputation but you may get a personal sense of satisfaction which is sometimes worth more than money  

[Helen]

Have voted "unsure" as I see it a few different ways and have done similar in the past.
We do work for charity driven support homes and although have never done a "free" clean we keep the rate discounted for them. But as with any business when they have management changes, we get a few issues, which can be sorted, but have brought about some problems that in all honesty wasn't worth the time in us having to sort out....hope that makes sense.
We also sub-contract to a company that does the UK re-fits for a chain of charity shops and the info they have let slip at times beggars belief on how much these charities spend out and waste of Joe public's donations instead of it going to the intended cause.
As with all "potential" situations, it could be good, it could be bad and you will only find out once you try.
Instead of offering free, why not offer discounted rates and see how that goes.

[Ian Gourlay]

I have a JP tape from circa 2000AD where a cleaner did do charity cleans on a weekly basis as a way of helping less fortunate people.

It was not restricted to one charity.

A friend of mine who ran a charity shop wanted me to clean suites for say £10 I turned it down

[Colin Day]

I have done free jobs loads of times .

and never have i got nothing . people dont like something for nothing .did a friends rug .she sent round 4 bottles of wine ,

did the local rugby club chairs where my son has played since 13.gave me some free beer .

so things usualy work out in your favour and you get to feel good about giving

Neil

You can come and clean my carpets then

[John Kelly]

I used to do a local hospice and a home for people born blind, deaf and mute for free also recently done some chairs at a local young carers where a friend of ours works. Only takes a couple of hours of your time.
Some people give hours and hours of their spare time to good causes. Mate of mine works for radio lolipop in hospitals. He a top manager with a large company and can still give time up at weekends to help them out.

[richy27]

my origial post prob sounded a bit harsh  what i meant to get across was if i had a call asking to clean for free tugging the heart strings my answer would be no but would maybe offer a 25 % discount . If i chose to clean for free because of perhaps a connection relating to a cause then i might  .   but i feel sometimes people believe because they are a registered charity they believe everything should be free of charge .

Of topic but i got married last year and the church asked me to clean the carpets but wait for it after my wedding . Oh yeah and obviously with no charge.  then i got an invoice for £625 for the church bill for the wedding . my answer was cause i will clean the carpets if my wedding was free .  all went quiet on the subject lol.

[Colin Day]

Farming lot are all the same Richard, they made 50 pence pieces an equilateral curved heptagon shape so they could get them out of a farmers's hand with a spanner...

[richy27]

Farming lot are all the same Richard, they made 50 pence pieces an equilateral curved heptagon shape so they could get them out of a farmers's hand with a spanner...
[/quot]

busted   i am just officially a mean nasty selfish  tight ass.    quite proud of it though

[Steve Gunn]

Have done a few freebies soft as poo me

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Yes I have done as I'm sure a lot have.

I would definitely not do it to use as an advert, it is always better to give quietly.

Cheers

Doug

[Hilton]

Thats an interesting comment, do it quietly.

There is a post on here;

No Wonder we Sometimes Get a Bad Name

Going by most of the replies and the poll there are a lot of you who carry out cleans for good causes that go unrecognised, no doubt many of you dont want any recognition it's just that feeling of doing someone a good turn.

Wouldn't it be nice to be known in your community as the business that supports your local/national charity and I mean really be known.

And in turn, to be supported by your local community or area of operation by customers both domestic and business who choose to use your services because of the very fact that they know you support a charity or charities free of charge and as such require their support so that you can carry on doing such good deeds, gratis.

For Example;

When Mrs Jones is looking for a CC, they all look and do the same at similar prices to her, she does not know who to choose.What will sway her decision? do you think she will choose Same as Everyone Else Ltd or you who are linked and recommended by,just for example, a Breast Cancer Charity. She knows that by choosing you over the other mob means she is not only getting her carpets cleaned but will also be directly supporting that Breast Cancer Charity by appointing you.