Christmas trees being sold at the Plough

[BeccaL]

Some points about the "charity" christmas trees being sold in the car park at the Plough.

I can't find any organisation called "Help the Hospice" although there is one called "Help the Hospices"

The web address they give www.christmastreeaid.co.uk doesn't seem to work.

Does anyone know which charity they're donating to?

Edited following info from people below - thanks for clarifying. Well done to them - hope they raise lots.

[Roundabout]

Ask the landlord of the pub:

[Otta]

I'd be willing to bet money that the charity they're donating to is themselves.

[DreaEastDulwich]

They are donating to St Christopher's Hospice aren't they? They did last year. There is a letter from the hospice pinned up at the site.

[DreaEastDulwich]

http://www.stchristophers.org.uk/

[leavespaceforbikes]

This site is legitimate- raised over ?12,000 for the hospice last year.

http://www.stchristophers.org.uk/fundraising/event/2014/christmas-tree-sale

[Jeremy]

Probably a good idea to change the title of the thread!!

[AJ3]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> Probably a good idea to change the title of the

> thread!!

Quite

Maybe it would be a good idea to delete the thread ?

Admin?

[intexasatthe moment]

I bought a tree there on Monday and the lady was lovely ,insisted on holding trees up together for comparison . And we got a fantastic tree for a great price .

[siousxiesue]

You would lose your bet Otta-

I know the family and also the woman works as a volunteer at the big St Christophers shop in Lordship Lane. They are legit and money goes to the hospice.

I ask the OP to remove the '' from the word charity in her heading

Otta Wrote:

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> I'd be willing to bet money that the charity

> they're donating to is themselves.

[pez]

i have known this family for over 25years. The mother of the son who sells the trees every year at the plough has a direct link to the charity. She volunteers her time to work at the St Christopher's hospice on lordship lane. Shame on you who suggesting otherwise.

[Loz]

To be fair, pez, there is a lot of dodgy 'charity' efforts going on. Those plastic bags shoved through your letter box every other day for a start. I can see why people were wary.

But it's good to see this one is legit.

[grace3]

I know what the o p means I was thinking the same, but we can be too cynical. So off to the Plough tomorrow for a tree.

[shaunag]

We got our tree there too and it's a beautiful tree. My dad spent time in a hospice before he died; the staff there do amazing work and it is a massive support to people at a very difficult time in their lives. So I think it's fantastic that they are donating to such a good cause and hats off to them...

[intexasatthe moment]

Terrific OP ,Loz and grace - there's some dodgy operations so lets just use that as justification for thinking that this is .

Despite the 8 ft high board showing how much money raised so far for St Christopher's with the headed A4 letter notice attached to it and the jacket emblazoned St Christopher's Hospice worn by the lady serving .

[Otta]

siousxiesue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You would lose your bet Otta-

> I know the family and also the woman works as a

> volunteer at the big St Christophers shop in

> Lordship Lane. They are legit and money goes to

> the hospice.

> I ask the OP to remove the '' from the word

> charity in her heading

>

>

> Otta Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I'd be willing to bet money that the charity

> > they're donating to is themselves.

Hands up, I'd lose.

But it might be an idea for them to give the correct information at their site, looks pretty dodgy.

[BeccaL]

Thanks all - agree, they would definitely be better to give correct information. Hope they do well for St Christopher's

[intexasatthe moment]

Oh be quiet - don't try and shift the reasons for your hasty and incorrect judgement .

Why is the onus on the charity to hone it's on line presentation skills and not on the likes of you to be a bit more alert at the actual point of sale .

Or even just not to be so quick to jump to conclusions .

[Otta]

It's not about the charity's online presentation, it's about the people flogging the trees getting the web address correct and the name of the charity. You can't blame someone for being suspeicious if they note down a web address and it turns out to not work.

And telling someone to "oh be quiet" is just rude.

[Blah Blah]

Jeez give it a rest Otta. Well said Intexas. I will be buying my tree there today with two very excited kids.

[lonajl]

The web address they actually give is www.christmastreeaid.org.uk , not .co.uk as suggested by the OP - might explain some of the issues the OP is having trying to find out about them. There's not much at the website but it does work if you go to the address that they actually give on their huge banner...

[Blah Blah]

And you know Otta, did the OP think of double checking with the vendor before almost accusing them of dishonesty on a local forum? What is wrong with you people? Give them a break. They are just a small business trying to do something for charity. Let's applaud that and support them instead, ffs.

[Blah Blah]

Well there ya go. The OP recalled the email address wrong. Typical EDF nonsense. People not checking their facts before they post and others assuming the OP must be telling the truth.

[BeccaL]

Sorry, but since the plethora of clothes recycling collection bags which arrive purporting to be for charity but only giving a tiny donation, I have an increased awareness of this.

Given the cost of Christmas trees I didn't want people to think they were supporting a charity when maybe they might not have been. Sorry I misread the web address and I'm glad to be corrected (thanks lonajl) and be wrong about this - I only saw it in passing hence didn't go and talk to them or the pub manager. I did try to phrase my original post to ask the questions rather than make accusations.

Enjoy your Christmas trees, everyone.

[Blah Blah]

Thank you Becca for acknowledging your mistake. To be fair, I think there's a big difference between an anonymous collection bag dropping through your door and a local well established business doing something for charity?

Anyway, I think lesson learned and hopefully if any good can come out of it, more people will go there to buy their tree. Admittedly I didn't know about them until you posted Becca, so that's one extra sale for them thanks to your mistake. All's well that ends well :)