The Daily Ping

FROM: Cat [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 5:43:44 am

I hate it when a cause I want to support is pushy. For years, I wouldn't send a donation to PBS, because of their aggressive tactics once they got my name. Finally, I relented, but I sent them a special note asking them NOT to contact me, explaining that they had already lost a lot of donation money because of pushiness.

Maybe something similar would work with the nice vampire people?

FROM: Chris [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 12:08:21 pm

Even worse is when the organization you support sells your name and address to countless similar organizations.

FROM: Monica
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 12:46:01 pm

I donated blood a long time ago, while I was still living with my parents and gave their number and address on the form. After about 2 months, I started getting postcards and letters about people who needed blood. It was getting annoying, and THEN the phone calls started. Finally my parents got really annoyed and said "she's anemic, stop calling!" even though I'm not anemic. I'd love to give blood again, but haven't because of the harrassment you get afterwards.
I wonder how it'd work if someone went in and told them that they won't donate unless they won't send mailings or call for more.

FROM: Heather
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 1:39:21 pm

Does this happen when you give at Red Cross drives? I've only given blood once (living overseas during a mad cow scare has killed my eligibility), and I was never contacted by anyone after the fact...If this is how your treated, I'm glad I can't donate anymore.

FROM: Ryan [E-Mail]
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 5:04:48 pm

I don't think it's an across-the-board thing, Heather. I've given blood in the past and have never had an issue with being contacted after the fact. But this one organization has just bugged the hell out of my wife since she gave. Hopefully not all of them are like that, but it would explain the "BLOOD SHORTAGE CRISIS~!"

FROM: Joseph
DATE: Tuesday January 11, 2005 -- 5:28:30 pm

Wow. I believe that this is the first expression of empassioned heated annoyance I've ever seen roll off the keyboard here at the Daily Ping. Usually the pings are much more even toned. I like the change.

Anyway, I have the opposite complaint. I used to consider it my civic duty to donate blood. Yeah, I know, there are plenty of people who say that I should sell it because the companies that draw my blood make tons of money selling blood products, yada, yada . . .

Anyway, in college, in the Deep South, donating blood was easy because blood drives were set up all the time. There was even a haunted house that set up a blood drive and donors were given free admission. Every time I went to the mall, there was a blood drive. It was easy for me to donate every six weeks.

Now that I've moved to the northeast it's like, where can you donate? I prefer the blood drives to come to me. I'm not so interested in my civic duty that I'm going to bother with making an appointment and going some where. If they want my blood so badly, they can come and get it. So far, here in New England, it seems they couldn't care less.

FROM: Greg
DATE: Friday January 14, 2005 -- 2:14:49 pm

My boss received a large number of phone calls asking to donate blood. After hearing about it and answering some of those phone calls, it was very easy to decide that giving blood would only bring more hassles I'd rather not have to deal with. I'd like to help and donate but after hearing these stories, I don't think I ever will.

FROM: richard washington
DATE: Wednesday August 24, 2005 -- 12:01:31 am