Family Pleads for Relief
from Charity Junk Mail
Myrtle Beach, SC | Last Christmas, the Padoodle family enjoyed a comfortable middle-class life in South Carolina. But that was before getting buried under an avalanche of solicitations from non-profit groups.
Veronica Padoodle explains how things started going wrong. "After Nine-Eleven, we wanted to help," she says. "So when we got that tax refund, we picked three charities and sent them $100 each." Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.
"I guess charities share their address lists," Veronica speculates, "because we only mailed three checks, but we started getting half a dozen letters a day from organizations I've never heard of - and a bunch of diseases I can't even pronounce." They made a few more donations, but could hardly keep up with the increasing requests.
The family felt guilty about ignoring so many charities, and kept hoping they would get back on their feet. Veronica says, "I started stacking the leftover envelopes in a box next to the front door. The pile got so big, every time Petey Jr. [their 7-year-old son] saw the box, he'd start to cry."
Last Spring, her husband Peter was laid off. "That's when we decided to throw away the box. But Peter hurt his back when he tried to lift it. Without his job, we didn't have any insurance and now he can't even work part time. His unemployment ran out and I'm afraid we'll lose our house."
Around the middle of September, they started getting stacks of 2003 calendars and hundreds of Christmas cards, but Veronica noticed they kept disappearing. Then she discovered Petey had been selling them to neighbors to get money for the charities.
"That little angel was sneaking into the dark living room at night and putting one dollar in every envelope to send off. He got so many paper cuts on his tongue, it got infected. Now he can't taste anymore, which is just as well because we've been eating dog food for two months."
Ironically, Petey's generosity only increased the volume of junk mail the family now receives. But Mrs. Padoodle has been forced to stop their philanthropy almost entirely.
"The only donation I've made lately was to the Butt Crack Artists Foundation - you know, they stick a pencil in their butts because they don't have any arms or legs. Those assholes sure can draw!"
