Kirsty Weakley looks at some of the charity stories that have made the papers during 'silly season'.
August is often referred to as silly season in the media. With not much happening in Westminster while the politicians take their summer break, journalists sometimes find themselves at a bit of a loose end.
This means we often see some good, bad and bizarre reporting about charities during the summer months. Here are some of the highlights, and lowlights, from August 2017.
‘Animal charity comes up with genius way to reunite lost rabbit with owners’
The Metro highlighted the plight of this lost rabbit, after the picture of the volunteer holding him attracted rather a lot of attention on social media.
It reported that the Woodside Animal Welfare Trust had been inundated with offers to adopt not just the rabbit but “buff” sanctuary supervisor, Leon Lambert-Gorwyn.
But the hunk in question was quick to urge others to “‘remember that the post is about the bunny”.
‘Extreme grooming hurts dogs’ pride, says Kennel Club’
The Telegraph and the Times reported concerns from an animal charity about an increase in over-groomed poodles who might find their look “humiliating”.
According to the papers, Caroline Kisko, secretary of the Kennel Club, said: “We are not greatly in favour of doing anything to dogs that makes them feel ‘silly’. Dogs know when they are being laughed at. You can get a dog that will love being the centre of attention. But some will feel silly.”
Coverage also helpfully included several photos highlighting the kind of extreme grooming the charity was calling for an end to.
‘Average Brit pays £30,000 to charities and good causes during their lifetime, survey shows’
At Civil Society News we’re quite used to reading research about the public’s giving habits, though we don’t often read about it in the Sun.
A survey carried out by YouGov for Hyundai, and Cancer Research UK came up with the figure of £30,000 over a lifetime.
While all surveys about how much people say they give should be taken with a pinch of salt, what was also quite interesting was the fact that just over half is given by direct debit, highlighting the importance of regular giving for the sector.
The report also included a handy plug for Hyundai’s smart car with contactless donation points, which has been raising money for Cancer Research UK over the last few months.
‘National Trust under fire after selling ‘sexist’ hats for girls’
The National Trust has come in for a fair bit of criticism over the last few weeks. Some of it deserved, some of it less so. But the papers have reached peak outrage with this story about hats on sale at one of its properties with the slogan ‘future footballers wife’.
While the hat was probably in poor taste, it's hardly the biggest charity scandal of recent times.
After a visitor to the property tweeted about her concerns the charity replied and put her in touch with the property, which removed the hats from sale.
The story was picked up widely, with the Independent, Telegraph, Metro and Evening Standard all reporting it yesterday.
I suspect what really irked bored subeditors was the glaring grammar error…
Read more from the Independent here.
From Fundraising magazine
‘Hospital refuses £2,500 donation from men dressed as female nurses’
A dispute between the Friends of Ludlow Hospital charity and the hospital attracted a lot of media attention after the hospital refused a £2,500 donation from male fundraisers who had dressed up as women.
Unfortunately disputes between ‘friends of’ charities and their beneficiaries are all too common but this dispute over £2,500 raised by cross dressing nurses was picked up by ITN, the BBC and the Mirror.
In this case the hospital had asked the charity to stop running the event, so whether you agree the hospital or the fundraisers, you have to suspect that the issue runs a bit deeper.
The story highlights an interesting ethical dilemma of how to balance the feelings of those benefiting from charitable funds with the way money is raised. But was also an opportunity for the press to share the photo of the men dressed up in female nurses’ outfits.
Read the ITN News report here.
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