I’ve had 1,000 begging letters says widow
A WIDOW told yesterday how she has been bombarded with more than 1,000 begging letters from charities after setting up three direct debit donations.
Jenny Phelps, 65, decided to start giving money to charity following the death of her husband, Jimmy, five years ago. She set up direct debits to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the RSPCA and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), all for £3 a month.
But within weeks, the pensioner began receiving up to three requests a day from charities asking her to give them money.
Five years on, Mrs Phelps, a retired carer, has had more than 1,000 letters put through her door in Coombe Dingle, Bristol, and has handed out about £3,300.
It follows the tragic death of Olive Cooke, 92, who killed herself after being plagued by charity begging letters.
Mrs Phelps slammed the charities, saying they are ‘preying on her good nature’.
She said: ‘I get inundated with letters. I’ve got about 50 to deal with at the moment, and that’s just from the past month or so.
‘It’s definitely quite overwhelming – you start to feel very guilty. I constantly feel like I’m under pressure to keep giving – there is no end. I imagine that word gets around that you have given some money and one charity will tell another, “try this lady – you might get something out of her”.
She added: ‘I saw Olive’s story, it was so sad. It’s horrible to think she took her life because of it. This month alone, I have had five letters from Action Against Hunger – surely they don’t need to send that many. Something really needs to be done.’