It's better to give?

Christmas is a time for many things; family, faith, quiet contemplation of the year that's almost over, which side of the family will you spend it with, and most important of all, which one one of you will drive so the other can get bladdered, that sort of thing.
It's all of the above for me even though I'm not one for the twinkle, unlike Irene. However, the thought of having such a good time whilst others less fortunate are shivering under an overpass or searching for a pissy cardboard box to sleep in whilst I'm tucking into a three bird roast and necking back a warm Barolo makes me feel somewhat guilty, so when I saw the advert for Crisis at Christmas saying that for £20 they could provide meals and somewhere to sleep over the festive season for one person, I jumped at the chance and flashed the plastic. It's a great charity and one worth supporting.

Normally I don't like Chuggers of any sort, and save my pennies for charities such as the RNLI, Poppy Appeal and the Sally Army, always dropping a few coins into the tins proffered by the brave souls out there looking to help others. However, I was moved by the thought of someone being cold at Christmas and made a donation online, together with my details so they could claim Gift Aid. Feeling suitably righteous I went on to have a lovely Christmas, free of guilt and angst.

Imagine my surprise when, late last night whilst I was watching the endless Qi reruns on Dave, I received a phone call from Crisis, thanking me for my donation. The guy was very chatty and I soon realised why. He wanted me to sign up for a regular direct debit of "only" 75p a week. I warned him, politely, that I wasn't going to sign up nor would I be making regular payments, but he kept on telling me of all the wonderful things my money would do for the homeless. Normally at this point I tell unsolicited callers to go forth (and multiply) but as this one was nice I ended the call without expletives of any sort. I could see Irene was surprised.
This sort of unwanted follow up reminded me why I don't normally give to charities. The hassle afterwards. Thinking back over the years the only charity that hasn't pestered me after making a donation was the Gurkha appeal.
Red Cross, Disaster Emergency, Oxfam etc, all hassled me after I had sent them money. Not only that but I then experienced months of receiving various begging letters through the post from a multiplicity of charities who had no doubt purchased my details from the one I'd contributed to.
So, here's one of my three New Year resolutions. Next time I give online to charity I'll no longer provide my details. Yes, this means that they will miss out on a 20% tax rebate, but I'll be saved hassle and no doubt a few less trees will not be turned into begging letters. Its a real shame but the charities have no one to blame but themselves.