If the charity bag has no identity marks and numbers, don’t fill it

AS a volunteer with an Irish charity, I know there is a problem in relation to unidentified collection bags, as Dominic O’Neill pointed out (Irish Examiner letters, October 11).

All major charities that rely on door-to-door collections have clearly labelled bags displaying the agency name, address and registered charity number, plus a landline phone number.

The bags that Mr O’Neill mentioned are a common problem for legitimate charities and, it is alleged, the proceeds earned from the sale of second-hand clothes from these bags do not always go to deserving causes. Some collectors may claim to sell the clothes they collect at a ‘charitable price’. In reality, they may be commercial companies intent on making a profit.

If a bag from a legitimate charity comes through your door, it is a simple matter of ringing the charity’s head office to ascertain if they are staging a drop-off in your area.

All Irish charities must be registered with the revenue commissioners and a quick phone call to them would establish the bona fides or otherwise of the collector.

If you suspect a bogus operator, simply throw the bag away or, even better, use it for some worthwhile job of your own. All Irish charities that use second-hand shops to fund their activities rely on donations from the general public for stock. The original concept behind these little enterprises was to fund the charity’s activities by recycling unwanted goods to provide either low-cost clothes to those on a budget or bargains for the fashion-conscious.

It is a community-based activity, and any attempt by greedy people to cash in on it should be treated with the contempt it deserves.

Jim Dwyer

Glanavaud

Kilbrittain

Co Cork