Charity bag packing at the supermarket

Hi Everyone,

I would just like to say you are all moaning about bag packing in supermarkets, but I myself have bag packed in a few supermarkets to raise money for my son. He is not yet 2 yrs old and was born blind, there is no treatment in this country however china offer therapy to improve vision with very high success rates but at a price of £25,000 what would you do as a parent? I think any decent parent would do what ever they could to raise the money needed, including bag packing!!!

Hi All,

I wish you'd all stop moaning. If you don't want to give then don't!!! Its as simple as that. People are out there giving up their time to help others, I bet a few of you don't!! I volunteer for a charity that helps under privilaged children in London. I have 3 boys myself and while they are at school I help the charity out. We don't have alot of money but anything we can do to help those in need is worth it!!!!

Maybe if you gave up a bit of your time (and not a couple of pennies) you might see this from a different angle!!!

Well done Sleeds, that is a great opportunity for you and also helps others at the same time. :-)

Sleeds - why are the people who are giving you money "lucky" ?

Why aren't you lucky to have an all expenses paid holiday that will be an interesting experience, will look good on your cv when you are older and which will make you feel virtuous? You are already looking down on the people who are paying for it and thinking that you are superior.

There is no "irony" in someone wanting their bread not to be squashed! If people are going to beg for money for trips then they should at least do a good job. Many of the people for whom you are packing are probably a lot poorer than you are and can not easily spare the money they are giving.

Perhaps you could feel a little more gratitude towards the people who are making your trip possible by paying for it!

I'm 16 and currently raising over £3000 to travel to kenya next year for a month to help in various communities with ongoing, worthwhile projects to improve their living standards greatly.
It seems quite ironic how many people complain about how maybe their bread is squashed, or their toiletries are put into other bags containing perishable items yet the reason for bag packing is to help people who have no access to food at all. I personally make sure I pack everything logically and pack the bags like I would pack my own.
Fair enough if you don't want your bags packing a simple 'no thankyou' would be fine, but instead you accuse us of 'glaring' and 'blackmailing behaviour'.
Perhaps if you all took a step back, stopped moaning and realised how lucky you are to actually be able to go to a supermarket to buy food, you might understand why people choose to raise money for charity.

Bad Things, I agree with you, I prefer to give to local charities also that are struggling, particularly one I volunteer for; you are right the SuperCharities are loaded and to echo your story a friend of mine asked a charity for help when having a rough time and was refused.

This main story, this is all so totally true, every last word, Tesco seems to be always at the bag-packers, I`m going in thinking oh not again, if i`d realised i`d have used self-service, not this checkout! And loads of charity tins at the door; you forgot that one!

Interesting comments on the charity bag packers. Main problem is the parents chatting away and not teaching how the kids should pack. Allways blame it on the parets ok - or maybe the grandparents.

My daughter is District Commissioner for The Girl Guides where she lives in Scotland and please believe me when I say that they need every penny that they can get, be it from bag packing, quiz nights or whatever.
If you don`t like the way your bags are packed then pack them yourself and throw a few coins in the bucket (no one knows how much you put in and as Tesco say "Every little Helps!!)

I used to tip these packers, but not any more, since coming back from a shopping trip to find half my shopping missing! Now I politely say 'thanks, but I'd like to do it myself' and do so, as I can make sure I get everything I've paid for.

I only give to British charities that help British causes. Charity begins at home, all the money sent to Africa goes to buying luxuries and weapons for Marxist despots while their people starve.

VOLUNTEER--- You must be one of a kind, I can say in all honesty if I give any of the multitudes of bag packers any spare change, it's with the understanding they keep well away from my shopping. Buying groceries costs enough as it is, without arriving home with what can only be described as extremely damaged goods, which you have been stupid enough to pay some "BAG PACKER" to ruin for you. It is high time that supermarkets limited these bag packers to once every ten years, and that would be once too often for my liking. It can be called whatever you like, but it is still barefaced begging.

I run a voluntary group. I've just spent 28 hours bag packing over xmas and new year gaining funds vital to our survival. We are a youth group but dont allow kids to pack. We make sure adults pack. We are experienced at it and do not crush peoples bread or smash their eggs. Frozen in one bag, bread etc another. The soap powder, bleach etc seperate. No bag too heavy. We dont sulk off if someone doesnt pay. Indeed customers get a trolley packed then say sorry, no change. We reply thats ok. Then you get somebody with only a loaf and a pint of milk giving you £1. If anyone doesnt want their bags packed then we step aside.