Power bill charity drive leaves elderly woman ‘‘panic-struck’’

AN elderly woman who suffers from dementia was left ‘‘distressed’’ and ‘‘panic-struck’’ after being hounded by charities appealing for donations.

The 87-year-old from Kaiaia, south of Auckland, mistook letters for unpaid bills after the SPCA tried to ramp up donations by including a copy of their power bill.

Jan Moore, the woman’s daughter, said her mother had become so distressed she called her in a panic one morning at 6am. ‘‘I am the one who usually calls her, so that was the first shock,’’ Moore said. ‘‘I actually thought someone had died.’’

Moore discovered her mum had donated to a number of charities – including the Cancer The Spring/ Summer issue of Mindfood Style features Danielle Hayes in a Piha fashion shoot. Society and SPCA – and immediately contacted them requesting they remove her mother from their mailing lists. ‘‘I saw a few receipts. There were two payments of $35 each to the Cancer Society, one after the other. She had also paid two other charities $60 and $70.’’

Chief executive of the Auckland Northland division of the Cancer Society, John Loof, would not discuss individual donors but Amanda Midgen, chief executive of the SPCA, confirmed the elderly woman had been removed from their mailing list.

‘‘We empathise with this family and in a case like this our policy is to always take all appropriate steps to make sure the situation is resolved.’’ MAHVASH ALI