Male: You have been looking around at charities, services of it. How do you get people the right way to recognize this service if it is not good for me, it could be a little fraudulent… What would be the test so you don’t waste your time and sometimes your own money, what tips could you give so we don’t have to get caught up because when you have a kid that is not doing well, whatever the reason, you are very susceptible to the snake oil salesman of the 21st Century, is that true?
Female: That is true.
Male: So what would you give as a tip that you would say “This is not the right thing to do” and you should look for some place else.
Female: Well, the first thing I would do is to look at their charitable record and you can do that by calling your State Attorney Generals Office and all the complains are filed up there, all the recommendations. We have the file testimonials every year as to how you help your clients and see if there is anything there.
Male: And if a Charity is not putting at least 80%...
Female: Yes.
Male: It could be less but there would be a reason for it, like 70%, I don’t know if I like that one.
Female: No.
Male: Okay, exceptions. Okay, that is a charity. What about if you went to a service, a doctor, if they use the word “guarantee” I will. I don’t know if I could trust that, can you?
Female: No.
Male: You said we can make an effort, we can try, you could check with some people who I have worked with and sometimes I tried it doesn’t work and they have to take it, look, we will do it three or four sessions and we don’t see any kind of progress in this particular kid it may not work. I know a physiotherapist, he is from South America and he gets kids that cannot sit up and walk, and he always gives them four sessions and it is not expensive. And after the fourth session, you see he has not made any progress, he says look, I am taking my therapy, which works 70% and I am going to get a kid to sit that cannot sit up and walk. It works, but not 100%. That person I will trust. But they guarantee you, writing a check for $5,000.00 that they may walk away from that kind of person.
Female: Yes definitely. And one of the things that I do it, before I even recommend somebody or I go in and meet with the person first. I see how they operate. I make sure that my client’s needs are going to be served before I even recommend them. Because if I don’t feel comfortable in the service that I am recommending, my client is not going to feel comfortable with that service either.
Male: I agree. But after a while, you probably have heard the stories. They promise miracles writing you the check but you can see how some could be easily take it. So, today you see an ad for charity and before you write that check, go check them out, and make sure it is at least 80% unless there are exceptions to the rule before your write that check and even then you cannot even be 100% sure because sometimes you can modify fakers. Okay, and if it is a good charity, besides writing a check, once in a while, why don’t you go and work with the charity and meet the people of the charity and the people is what we really, are giving money to it. Do they seem kind, and they are really trying, and they have a kid with a particular problem or family member of the problem. They probably are the best ones for charity because they know what the charity is about because they felt it.
Female: Yes. What Okinawa suggests is that before you make out a check to a charity, go interview the people in the charity. Go there and say, I am interested in your organization. Can I sit and talk with you for a few minutes. Also get a contact person. Find out who the president of the charity is. Find out who is under him. This way, you have a physical name that you can go to if you have any suspicion. Because the staff person behind the phone is not going to be able to give you the information that you really need.
Male: One thing bothers me. I don’t want to mention charity but I located in the City of New York in Park Avenue. Park Avenue is pretty expensive, so you know. I am sure they are doing the right thing but the first time I heard about this charity, Park Avenue bothered me and I don’t know if they understand that because if that is going to a ranch and not a kid it bothers me. And then you see they do fund raising and they are paying for private jet rides that would bother you a little bit too. And if you also see, they get a celebrity, then you find yourself you can do it for free and he is getting paid $20,000.00, that is a little bit over reflective, is that true?
Female: That is true, I think if you are going to do it for charity the idea is that the money goes to what you are doing. I am not saying people don’t use an office but you cut that on your expenses to put it towards the services. Is it really a must to have that celebrity there, yes, it will attract attention, of course it will but remember whatever you are giving to that charity, is going back to that person. So the ideas, you are giving to a charity to pay somebody to come to entertain you, when you can go by thinking that it goes to the same person.
Male: 100% but the difficult solution, I don’t care what the charity is, is it a cancer fund, leukemia fund, do your homework. Money is getting tight today and if you only have an extra amount of money to give that year. Try to distribute it, and know at least it is going to a charity that does a minimum of 80%. That means, giving that service towards a child or young adult and not giving it to the fund raiser. Because if you are paying, I got this one charity I saw that they are value oriented, 10% was going to the CEO of the charity, that is outrageous.
Female: It is outrageous.
Male: It is a $3 million fund. And he is working full time. I think that figure seems a little bit high.
Female: It does seem high especially when they are supposed to be doing something out of the goodness of their heart and helping people. To me that is not right. You are doing something for good but yet you want to also benefit from that and you can benefit from it by knowing that you helped somebody at the end of the day.
Male: People don’t make you lose the homes because of some things that a lot of these places did and the guy walks away because it was taken over by America and became the headache and overprice and he walked away with $80 million. Take that $80 million and give it to charities like what you were trying to tell. I am pretty sure, good things would come from that. Trips to Florida or Bermuda is that correct?
Female: That is correct and the $80 million that he got, he could also put back into and help a little save their homes. You know, I mean, they created the problem with them. Undo the problem.
Male: Listen, we live in a country that people are titled to make a living but sometimes you do not make it, you are generating. It goes with charities and a lot of things in life. There are very fine people that we are producing in this country, some very fine charities, some very loving and giving people and that is the other side of the coin. He is a bell shaker, does 5% do extraordinary stuff, and a 5% of unbelievable corks. A lot of stuff in between.
Female: That is true. I am also an Ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Association in America and I chose that one as suppose to National Multiple Sclerosis society because everybody at that organization are all volunteers. Now whether it gets paid to do what we do, they are based in New Jersey and everyday our volunteers are there to help you deal with MS, including getting a new equipment and I chose to go that route because I knew nobody was getting paid. The whole organization was founded by volunteers.
Male: So this is a very good one we happened to mention.
Female: Yes.
Male: So in other words, be careful.
Female: Definitely.
Male: You have been looking around at charities, services of it. How do you get people the right way to recognize this service if it is not good for me, it could be a little fraudulent… What would be the test so you don’t waste your time and sometimes your own money, what tips could you give so we don’t have to get caught up because when you have a kid that is not doing well, whatever the reason, you are very susceptible to the snake oil salesman of the 21st Century, is that true?
Female: That is true.
Male: So what would you give as a tip that you would say “This is not the right thing to do” and you should look for some place else.
Female: Well, the first thing I would do is to look at their charitable record and you can do that by calling your State Attorney Generals Office and all the complains are filed up there, all the recommendations. We have the file testimonials every year as to how you help your clients and see if there is anything there.
Male: And if a Charity is not putting at least 80%...
Female: Yes.
Male: It could be less but there would be a reason for it, like 70%, I don’t know if I like that one.
Female: No.
Male: Okay, exceptions. Okay, that is a charity. What about if you went to a service, a doctor, if they use the word “guarantee” I will. I don’t know if I could trust that, can you?
Female: No.
Male: You said we can make an effort, we can try, you could check with some people who I have worked with and sometimes I tried it doesn’t work and they have to take it, look, we will do it three or four sessions and we don’t see any kind of progress in this particular kid it may not work. I know a physiotherapist, he is from South America and he gets kids that cannot sit up and walk, and he always gives them four sessions and it is not expensive. And after the fourth session, you see he has not made any progress, he says look, I am taking my therapy, which works 70% and I am going to get a kid to sit that cannot sit up and walk. It works, but not 100%. That person I will trust. But they guarantee you, writing a check for $5,000.00 that they may walk away from that kind of person.
Female: Yes definitely. And one of the things that I do it, before I even recommend somebody or I go in and meet with the person first. I see how they operate. I make sure that my client’s needs are going to be served before I even recommend them. Because if I don’t feel comfortable in the service that I am recommending, my client is not going to feel comfortable with that service either.
Male: I agree. But after a while, you probably have heard the stories. They promise miracles writing you the check but you can see how some could be easily take it. So, today you see an ad for charity and before you write that check, go check them out, and make sure it is at least 80% unless there are exceptions to the rule before your write that check and even then you cannot even be 100% sure because sometimes you can modify fakers. Okay, and if it is a good charity, besides writing a check, once in a while, why don’t you go and work with the charity and meet the people of the charity and the people is what we really, are giving money to it. Do they seem kind, and they are really trying, and they have a kid with a particular problem or family member of the problem. They probably are the best ones for charity because they know what the charity is about because they felt it.
Female: Yes. What Okinawa suggests is that before you make out a check to a charity, go interview the people in the charity. Go there and say, I am interested in your organization. Can I sit and talk with you for a few minutes. Also get a contact person. Find out who the president of the charity is. Find out who is under him. This way, you have a physical name that you can go to if you have any suspicion. Because the staff person behind the phone is not going to be able to give you the information that you really need.
Male: One thing bothers me. I don’t want to mention charity but I located in the City of New York in Park Avenue. Park Avenue is pretty expensive, so you know. I am sure they are doing the right thing but the first time I heard about this charity, Park Avenue bothered me and I don’t know if they understand that because if that is going to a ranch and not a kid it bothers me. And then you see they do fund raising and they are paying for private jet rides that would bother you a little bit too. And if you also see, they get a celebrity, then you find yourself you can do it for free and he is getting paid $20,000.00, that is a little bit over reflective, is that true?
Female: That is true, I think if you are going to do it for charity the idea is that the money goes to what you are doing. I am not saying people don’t use an office but you cut that on your expenses to put it towards the services. Is it really a must to have that celebrity there, yes, it will attract attention, of course it will but remember whatever you are giving to that charity, is going back to that person. So the ideas, you are giving to a charity to pay somebody to come to entertain you, when you can go by thinking that it goes to the same person.
Male: 100% but the difficult solution, I don’t care what the charity is, is it a cancer fund, leukemia fund, do your homework. Money is getting tight today and if you only have an extra amount of money to give that year. Try to distribute it, and know at least it is going to a charity that does a minimum of 80%. That means, giving that service towards a child or young adult and not giving it to the fund raiser. Because if you are paying, I got this one charity I saw that they are value oriented, 10% was going to the CEO of the charity, that is outrageous.
Female: It is outrageous.
Male: It is a $3 million fund. And he is working full time. I think that figure seems a little bit high.
Female: It does seem high especially when they are supposed to be doing something out of the goodness of their heart and helping people. To me that is not right. You are doing something for good but yet you want to also benefit from that and you can benefit from it by knowing that you helped somebody at the end of the day.
Male: People don’t make you lose the homes because of some things that a lot of these places did and the guy walks away because it was taken over by America and became the headache and overprice and he walked away with $80 million. Take that $80 million and give it to charities like what you were trying to tell. I am pretty sure, good things would come from that. Trips to Florida or Bermuda is that correct?
Female: That is correct and the $80 million that he got, he could also put back into and help a little save their homes. You know, I mean, they created the problem with them. Undo the problem.
Male: Listen, we live in a country that people are titled to make a living but sometimes you do not make it, you are generating. It goes with charities and a lot of things in life. There are very fine people that we are producing in this country, some very fine charities, some very loving and giving people and that is the other side of the coin. He is a bell shaker, does 5% do extraordinary stuff, and a 5% of unbelievable corks. A lot of stuff in between.
Female: That is true. I am also an Ambassador for the Multiple Sclerosis Association in America and I chose that one as suppose to National Multiple Sclerosis society because everybody at that organization are all volunteers. Now whether it gets paid to do what we do, they are based in New Jersey and everyday our volunteers are there to help you deal with MS, including getting a new equipment and I chose to go that route because I knew nobody was getting paid. The whole organization was founded by volunteers.
Male: So this is a very good one we happened to mention.
Female: Yes.
Male: So in other words, be careful.
Female: Definitely.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services