http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/neighborhoodcity/53658428-135/bank-club-kids-lake.html.csp

Since donations are down, the Boys and Girls club is having a hard time keeping snacks out for hungry children, who often don't get a real dinner at home. Sad to think a rich lady probably bought a piece of jewelry at City Creek, worth enough to supply all the Boys and Girls clubs with snacks for a whole year.

That's very true that a lot of poor kids don't get dinner. The kids I teach are not supposed to take food out of the cafeteria at lunch, but I look the other way. That might be the only food that they get at supper time. I've spoken with kids who've told me that their refrigerators are empty at home.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 07:08PM by summer.

Sad to think how many years worth of snacks the church could have bought, just with the money they spent on water features at their mall.

Exactly! And the list of people/groups who donate did not include LDS Inc. How can they sleep at night knowing that a little kid not even a mile away didn't get dinner. But people are buying 30,000 watches at their shitty crick center.

Our priorities are backwards. There should not be a single hungry child in this country. I love that Boys and Girls Club, and others like it, provide children with care, activities, and snacks. In the article a volunteer is quoted saying that she has parents call requesting to send any leftover food home with the child. This makes me rethink some of things I put my charity in to. I have been involved in helping raise awareness for a certain dog breed, but I'm rethinking that. How about we feed our children first, and then take care of the dogs.

...including the Boys/Girls clubs. I can vouch for them. They provide a safe, supervised environment, tutoring, homework help, snacks, and activities. Often the staff of these clubs works closely with their neighborhood teachers and schools. I have personally walked young kids to these clubs after the school day has ended. They are like a haven for these kids, and are truly worth of community support.

I worked at the Boys and Girls Club and also the YMCA a long time ago. The kids I watched and taught really needed a safe environment, especially considering the areas and situations they lived in.

I have some horror stories about neglectful parents who didn't give a rats ass about these kids.

You would think that there wouldn't be a single homeless, abused or hungry child in the City of SaltLake.

Yes, but they have downgraded "zion" to a state of mind. No longer is it the utopian results of the gospel as described in the Book of Mormon, but a singleness of mind where all hearts beat as one...you know, correlation.

I'm going to argue the other side of this a little bit.

Welfare is not always the answer. Terry Goodkind made this argument very well in his Sword of Truth Series. Here is a brief a summary of how he told the story:

There was a very successful/rich armorer. His wife was seduced by an evil person and convinced this armorer that his successful business was evil and that he needed to donate the money to the poor. So to keep the peace with is wife he did.

The business went under. The employees lost their jobs. There was a domino effect and the entire area went back to the poverty it was in. The very poor he donated to were much worse than they were to begin with.

I certainly think the Mormon church should not bee fleecing it's members for tithing and building malls. But I also would rather see the Mormon church putting the money back into the economy than hoarding it in a bank. What I'd rather see is them not taking 10% in the first place...

it is having a heart...yeah my heart does bleed for them...why doesnt your heart bleed...oh thats right...you dont have one...you trot out a "faith promoting story" and that is supposed to make us think that charity is welfare? Or that welfare and or charity is bad??? perpetual welfare is bad...welfare is not bad it is the system that needs work...not the idea...you dont seem to like the idea...oh well not every one has empathy...you might need to buy some it is apparent you haven't any!

Ok bignever how much are you personally donating to boys/girls club because of this story? If not a substantial amount I'm calling "hypocrite". You know nothing about what I personally contribute to charity - hint it is fairly substantial - I'd guess significantly more than you. So calm down on the personal attack just because you don't agree with my opinion.

you did not say you were donating anything to that club...and your saying that you donate more than me is inane...you cant possibly know what i do and dont do...your post was a post railing against "welfare" making it seem like you equate making sure kids have food(which is what the post is about)... to welfare...then you come up with your " i donate more to that club than you do" comment...what a crock...perhaps i seem harsh...well your "welfare" comment in this thread makes it seem you would rather the kids be hungry than be on "welfare" Thats why I got hot...have a nice day!

ronas Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm going to argue the other side of this a little
> bit.
>
> Welfare is not always the answer.
>

But giving poor kids a snack at a Boy or Girls club wouldn't turn them into leaches or anything.

Unfortunately there are hungry elderly in SLC also.

I once visited an old lady in SLC who didn’t have any food. I thought that no food would mean not much food. I looked in her refrigerator and there was an old bottle of mayonnaise and almost nothing else. Literally an empty fridge! The cupboards were not a whole lot better.

I made sure she got some food in her fridge, and set her up with a community organization that would bring food. I then found out that she had been married once and told her that she could claim Social Security on his record and dramatically increase her check size.

All she had was his name and where she thought that he was born. I did some research and had the state they got married in send me a copy of their marriage license. I filled out the SS forms and got her $20,000 in back payments and a much larger check every month.

Not just trying to toot my own horn. Just heading off possible calls of me being a hypocrite for knowing and not doing anything.

There are hungry people of all types in SLC.

brook - PLEASE stop posting things that make me want to hurl my laptop through the front window. :) I get so mad when I think about what could have been done with even a portion of the money spent on City Creek. If they had reigned it in a billion dollars or so and tried to just do what they seem to want credit for doing... follow Jesus.

In all seriousness though, I'm very glad you post these things because it just adds to my conviction that even as a TBM, the mall would have been my undoing where Mormonism is concerned. It's just so outrageous. I love your posts - I just wish they weren't necessary and that the Mormon church had their priorities straight.

PS - tomorrow I'm going to make a donation to Boys and Girls Club. Just to show which side I'm on. Actions speak louder than words and all that...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 09:25PM by CA girl.

Thanks, CA girl! I wish my posts weren't necessary too. That's great that you're going to send a donation! Helping children has to be near the very top of the charitable cause list. I'm going to see what I can do too.

I was amazed that so many of the people commenting thought it was wrong that the kids get fed. Here in Yakima many of the children would not eat at all during the day if not for the donated meals at school. A lot of people here are desperate and work 16 hours a day. They don't get to see their kids and don't have enough money to put food on the table.

I wish you hadn't mentioned what they were saying in the comments. Because reading them is going to give me nightmares. Except the comments by Admiral Shakleford - him I want to hug.

Maybe it's the Utah mentality that the righteous prosper so those needing assistance must be doing something wrong that makes people so heartless. Or maybe it's the fact poor Mormon families often do take advantage of the system so are suspicious others are doing the same. Or maybe it's just the idea that charity doesn't come from the heart - it's assigned by the church and the church hasn't specifically asked them to donate to this charity. But some of the comments were so heartless I couldn't believe it. While I'm all for a system that runs smoothly and is protected from abuses, I agree with the person who said it's better to err on the side of ethics and morality, rather than let kids starve so a few people don't take advantage of the system.

Cludgie, I couldn't agree more, those commenters were harsh! These are children, who are at an after school program out of necessity.

I can't speak for Utah, but where I live most poor parents are working. They just can't get by on the salary they're making. Sometimes drugs are involved, and/or a grandparent is raising the child.

In no way is any of this the kid's fault. Kids simply are unable to learn on an empty stomach. This is the whole basis of school breakfast and lunch programs. If we truly believe that this is a land of equal opportunity, then the least we can do is make sure that kids are sent to school with the basics they need to learn and get ahead. And that starts with food.

"I guess these kids will stay hungry until they can get a job at City Creek." That's what I put with my FB share of this article. I've got the flu and don't give a flying eff if somebody's cog dis is seriously wounded.

As i've often had to say if theres ten people wanting five jobs then no matter the level of skill or education five people will be dissapointed. So what do you do with those five people? You can be nice enough to keep thair kids fed and keep them alive or you can blame them for not getting jobs when theres simply not the jobs. You can say they will become dependant all you like but with no way to feed thair families you have this problem.

The fewer people that are needed for a job the less jobs there will be and what do you do with the exess people?

That is what the argument comes down to in the end.

To me I strongly support these charaty groups that try to get the kids some food that the family cant and all charaties like it. If we just keep saying they will get dependant then we are refuseing to look after alot of people like ourselves that may have just not gotten a job because the only diffrence between aplicants is the size of boobs of one.

These people that buy thair jewlery and other expensive things at that mall should know tht if one person back inh thair family haddent been chosen over someone else they would be the people unable to let thair kids eat well.