Which local charities should I give to?

Salvos are good, and operate some refuge, including womens refuge. I imagine it could be a hard winter for some single mothers out there.

St John’s Care, operating from premises at the church of the same name in Reid, runs a range of programs including emergency food relief. Their present room was my Christmas charity of choice until I reluctantly withdrew from giving to Anglican charities because of the Bishops’ homophobic actions and pronouncements. That’s my call; you may want to investigate their website at http://www.stjohnscanberra.org/care-need-help/

I tried the Smith Family for a year as a replacement, but found it difficult to specify a particular program/geographic area, so last year I gave to Communities at Work (https://commsatwork.org/). They also have a range of programs and you can select where your donation is targeted.

Jono said :

Persephone – I’d love to be in the position where I could resume donating to the RSPCA, but we had such a bad experience with them several years ago, that there’s no way that they’ll get my money again. We adopted a kitten, and they gave us an assurance that if there were any existing health issues, subject to certain conditions, that they would deal with them. We discovered that he had an umbilical hernia the night that we got him home, and attempted to get him seen. They outright refused to deal with him and we had to pay to get him operated on at our normal vet.

He’s a gorgeous cat, and I don’t regret for a second that we got him, but organisations like this have to understand that they lose people like me for life when they make promises that they have no intention of keeping.

It left such a bad taste in my mouth, to have donated to them generously for a number of years and then be treated so shabbily, that I will never adopt from them again, and advise all of my friends not to do so – there are plenty of other rescue organisations out there.

Im with you on this. I got a kitten who had problems, and it turned out to be Feline HIV. RSPCA denied all, assured me she was fine, there was no issue. Ultimately she had to be put down due to her condition. RSPCA still denied all. Never again.

Persephone – I’d love to be in the position where I could resume donating to the RSPCA, but we had such a bad experience with them several years ago, that there’s no way that they’ll get my money again. We adopted a kitten, and they gave us an assurance that if there were any existing health issues, subject to certain conditions, that they would deal with them. We discovered that he had an umbilical hernia the night that we got him home, and attempted to get him seen. They outright refused to deal with him and we had to pay to get him operated on at our normal vet.

He’s a gorgeous cat, and I don’t regret for a second that we got him, but organisations like this have to understand that they lose people like me for life when they make promises that they have no intention of keeping.

It left such a bad taste in my mouth, to have donated to them generously for a number of years and then be treated so shabbily, that I will never adopt from them again, and advise all of my friends not to do so – there are plenty of other rescue organisations out there.

Queen of the bun: I agree with you, I am also glad he is gone.

But the RSPCA does such good work, the volunteers, vets, they are still a very worth while cause.

Persephone said :

With the budget cuts, animals are also affected.
The RSPCA appreciates volunteers, donations, unwanted towels and blankets.

The work the RSPCA do is incredibly hard, they help abused animals and rescue, nurture and help them find new for ever homes. They work with lots of different species, including wildlife.

My beautiful adult cat came from a cat hoarders home of over 40 cats.

My cat has been a wonderful companion in my home (totalling 2 cats from the RSPCA) and lives a peaceful happy life. She would have probably be dead by now, having lived a horrible life if it wasn’t for the RSPCA rescuing her.

Thanks!
Persephone*

* not affiliated with RSPCA other than a regular cash donor and they get my old towels and blankets from time to time.

I used to donate to the RSPCA until Michael Linke allowed the shelter to be used as a backdrop for a Tony Abbott carbon tax scare campaign. Somehow forgetting that the Howard Government threatened to take away the RSPCA’s tax deductible status for taking part in “political” campaigns.
I’m glad Linke’s gone but am still not ready to donate to them again.

With the budget cuts, animals are also affected.
The RSPCA appreciates volunteers, donations, unwanted towels and blankets.

The work the RSPCA do is incredibly hard, they help abused animals and rescue, nurture and help them find new for ever homes. They work with lots of different species, including wildlife.

My beautiful adult cat came from a cat hoarders home of over 40 cats.

My cat has been a wonderful companion in my home (totalling 2 cats from the RSPCA) and lives a peaceful happy life. She would have probably be dead by now, having lived a horrible life if it wasn’t for the RSPCA rescuing her.

Thanks!
Persephone*

* not affiliated with RSPCA other than a regular cash donor and they get my old towels and blankets from time to time.

The Yellow Van provides food to families in need. It does great work in Canberra and relies on donations.