Tag: charity

As a billionaire king is crowned, he urges us to do some charity work. Welcome to Britain | Frances Ryan

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Don’t have plans for the coronation bank holiday? Fear not. The king invites you to join the Big Help Out, a national day of volunteering designed to mark the new reign. Or as the Telegraph breathlessly describes it, a “tribute to Charles’s many decades of public service”.
The Big Help Out will, according to the official website, “give everyone an opportunity to join in”. What acts of charity would Buckingham Palace like us to join in with, exactly? Squeezing out toothpaste for an elderly neighbour, perhaps. Or staffing a local art centre (do remember not to take the art home with you).
With the cost of living crisis leading to growing hardship across the country, especially in the poorest communities, there is said to be a national shortage of volunteers to meet the demand for them. Organisers were hoping the Big Help Out would inspire a new wave of volunteering, but some in the charity fear the event will be “damp squib”, due to lack of participants.
Is one really shocked? A man whose car collection alone is estimated to be worth more than £6m asking the rest of us to celebrate his kingship by helping out at the local food bank feels, shall we say, a little “let them eat quiche”.
Volunteering can be hugely rewarding, and many organisations are in desperate need of more help, but there may be better ways to promote the cause than an event that is literally about deference to hereditary privilege. People who are already working every hour just to put food on the table hardly need a billionaire to ask them to use their day off to do more.
As commentary on this country’s relationship with class goes, it could only be more crass if one of the volunteering jobs on offer was for families to scrub King Charles’s golden carriage with their electricity bills.
Charity, monarchy fans insist, is a longstanding personal interest of the royal family. In the runup to the coronation, the Princess of Wales made a “previously unannounced” visit to Windsor’s baby bank for deprived newborns (photographers were there entirely coincidentally, you understand). More than 850 community and charity representatives have been invited to the coronation to show the king’s deep respect for their work and 400 young volunteers will also watch from St Margaret’s church, Westminster Abbey.
Charles, complete with Aston Martin DB6 Volante, visits the car maker’s new factory in St Athan, Wales, on 21 February 2020. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
No news as yet as to whether any representatives from HMRC have been invited. Royals always seem to prefer ad hoc charity work to taxation, much like the boss of Amazon or the Victorians. The £1bn Duchy of Cornwall estate – previously inherited by Charles and recently passed on to Prince William – is not liable for either corporation tax or capital gains tax.

But don’t worry, according to the duchy’s website, under Charles’s leadership, the estate’s annual multimillion-pound revenue was used to fund his “public, private and charitable activities”. Charles notably didn’t pay a single penny of inheritance tax on the fortune the late Queen left him last year (the jewellery alone was estimated to be worth at least £533m), though he has “volunteered” to pay income tax, as he also did on the duchy estate. “Volunteering” to pay tax always feels a little like a wanted criminal “volunteering” to hand himself over to the authorities. It doesn’t seem to be something you typically get a choice in.
For the little people, tax isn’t a hobby – it funds the key services we all rely on. Indeed, the “crisis in volunteering” that the Big Help Out hopes to fill has largely been created by years of government cuts, all while the richest have hoarded and increased their wealth. Over the last decade, local councils have faced £15bn in real-terms cuts with neighbourhood services such as parks, libraries and children’s centres “hollowed out” since 2010.
There is apparently no money for Sure Start centres but you’ll be relieved to hear ministers have found £8m to offer every public body a free portrait of King Charles. Oliver Dowden, the new deputy prime minister and patriot in chief, says the portraits would bring the nation together. So would working hospitals.
The coronation itself is estimated to be costing the public purse anywhere from £50m to £100m. Charles’s personal fortune is thought to be almost £2bn, but as anyone who has ever gotten a £60 ticket to St Pancras on expenses knows, a 1.3-mile coronation precession can very much be put down as a “work trip”.
In the coming days, there will be endless commentators ready to declare that the coronation makes them “proud to be British”, while anyone who criticises any aspect of it will be accused of “hating their country”. I have never quite understood the mindset that feels more pride in producing Prince Andrew than the welfare state. At the very least, we should surely be allowed to ask some questions. Can a modern nation call itself democratic if it retains an unelected head of state? Is a growing reliance on charity a point of celebration or shame? Does sanitising the existence of royalty normalise wider inequality? As a diamond-encrusted crown is placed on the king’s head, your packed local homeless shelter is desperate for help. Don’t you feel proud to be British?

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#billionaire #king #crowned #urges #charity #work #Britain #Frances #Ryan
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
At least 80 killed in stampede during charity event in Yemen

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Sanaa: A stampede at an aid distribution centre in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa has claimed the lives of at least 80 people and left 220 others injured, according to Anis Al-Subaihi, spokesperson for the Houthi-led health ministry.
Abdul Khalik Al-Ajri, spokesperson for the Houthi-controlled interior ministry, told the Houthi-run Saba news that “the stampede accident on Wednesday evening was the result of the random distribution of sums of money by some merchants without coordination with the Ministry of Interior”, Xinhua news agency reported.
Many Yemenis, impoverished by years of conflicts, flocked to charity centres for basic needs as Eid al-Fitr, one of the most important festivals for Muslims, is approaching.

(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
Generous Givers: British Muslims Give Rs 10,000 Crore In Charity In A Year

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SRINAGAR: The British Muslims are Europe’s generous givers as far as charity goes. A survey report made public early this year said that British Muslims give nearly one billion pounds a year, which is more than Rs 10,000 crores.
A research report published by the London-based think tank, the Ayaan Institute, reports that UK Muslim humanitarian charities raised £708M for causes in 2020. It also estimates that this amount, combined with Muslim giving to UK charitable causes (including 2752 mosques and prayer venues), means UK Muslims generously give at least £1Bn a year to charity, projected to reach £4Bn by 2050.
Ramzan, the Muslim month of fasting, is a major contributor to charity across Europe and especially in the UK. A report said UK Muslims give on average more than £130 million to charity this month.
The donations are so hugely expected that the Charity Commission for England and Wales issued an advisory. “Ramadan is a time of huge generosity among British Muslims, and the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria, as well as the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis, make it especially important that their charitable contributions support good causes through registered charities. Regulators are therefore issuing advice to remind British Muslims to make checks, ensuring their donations reach registered charities.”
Early March, William and Catherine, the prince and princess of Wales, showered praises on British Muslims for raising record funds to aid victims of the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria. The royals, with the princess wearing a headscarf, visited the Hayes Muslim Centre to thank volunteers who raised 30000 pounds within a few hours. Late last year, they raised more than 13 million pounds for flood-devastated Pakistan.
Part of the charity goes to the relief and rehabilitation of refugees across the world. A report by Brown University in the United States said that around 37 million people (3.70 crore), mostly Muslims, have become refugees or displaced since the start of the War on Terror in 2001.
This year, local issues will remain the key pressure on Muslim charities in the UK. Islamic Relief, the London-based major Muslim charity said that an estimated 16 lakh British Muslims have landed in poverty and deprivation because of the cost-of-living crisis. This makes up almost half of the British Muslim population.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 2, 2023
Feds probing Santos’ role in service dog charity scheme

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“I’m glad to get the ball rolling with the big-wigs,” Osthoff said in an interview Wednesday. “I was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted.”
The alleged fundraising scheme is one of many scandals plaguing the freshman Republican, who has refused to leave office despite a series of allegations of lying and fraud that first came to light in December shortly after he won a swing seat on Long Island.
New York Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman, who called for a Federal Election Commission investigation into Santos’ campaign finances last month, welcomed the news that the Eastern District investigation is proceeding at a serious clip.
“Only the U.S. attorneys are capable of moving at the speed that’s necessary,” Torres said in an interview.
“There’s no one that poses a greater threat in Congress than Santos. It’s undeniable that he’s broken the law. We have to protect Congress from George Santos, who threatens it from within,” Torres said.
Goldman, an ex-federal prosecutor who has a seat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, echoed Torres’ comments in a separate interview.
“Given that a serial liar like Santos is still walking the halls of the Capitol, it is imperative that the Justice Department move quickly to determine whether an indictment is appropriate.”
On Tuesday, Santos stepped down from his Congressional committee assignments, telling colleagues he was trying to avoid becoming a further “distraction” for House Republicans. The announcement followed a meeting a day earlier with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who declined to disclose the reason for the discussion.

McCarthy made his strongest statement yet on Santos last week. He told Capitol Hill reporters that if Santos is found to have broken the law by the House Ethics Committee he will be removed from Congress.
Joshua Schiller, a senior trial lawyer who has practiced in the Eastern District, said the veteran’s encounter with Santos could offer prosecutors a quick way to hit the Republican congressman with criminal charges even though they’re also investigating heftier possible financial crimes.
“I think there is an urgency here because Santos is currently in a position to make laws,” Schiller said. “I can think of examples where the government used a lesser indictment to seize assets and try to cause the defendant to plea to a deal before bringing a second or third indictment on more serious charges, and I bet that is the case here.”
Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, declined to comment. Santos has previously said he merely exaggerated portions of his resume and denied that he broke any laws.
Spokespeople for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Osthoff was sleeping in a tent on the side of the road in New Jersey in 2016 when a veterinary technician connected him with a pet charity. Anthony Devolder, who ran Friends of Pets United, promised to help Osthoff get a tumor removed from his dog’s stomach, the veteran said.
Devolder, a version of Santos’ full name he used before entering politics, set up the GoFundMe account and promoted it on social media saying, “When a veteran reaches out to ask for help, how can you say no?” according to screenshots of the postings.
When the account had reached its $3,000 goal, Devolder gave a series of excuses about why he couldn’t help Sapphire get treatment, then became difficult to reach, text messages between the two show.
Osthoff says Santos deliberately used his story of being a homeless disabled veteran with a sickly service dog to extract donations, then took off with the funds, leaving him unable to afford Sapphire’s surgery.
Osthoff said the experience was so traumatic it prompted him to contemplate suicide. Sapphire died from the tumor in 2017.
Friends of Pets United was not a registered charity, The New York Times reported in December when it first broke the story that Santos had fabricated much of his campaign biography.
Schiller said the GoFundMe allegations could result in several types of charges, including wire and mail fraud as well as bank fraud. Santos could have also committed tax crimes if he claimed exemptions for an unregistered charity, Schiller said.
CBS News first reported that federal investigators in New York were “looking into” Santos following the Times articles and other reporting that raised more questions about his background and how he funded a successful run that flipped his Long Island district from blue to red in November.
Last week, the Department of Justice asked the FEC to pause any enforcement action against Santos as the department worked on its own case, according to a report last week in the Washington Post.
Over $700,000 Santos initially listed as a personal loan to his campaign may have been an illegal straw donor scheme, according to FEC complaints.
The New York Attorney General’s office, as well as the Queens and Nassau County district attorneys, are also probing Santos.
Osthoff said the New York Attorney General’s Office Public Integrity Bureau, which handles fraud and criminal inquiries into elected officials, began investigating the GoFundMe drive last month.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Tish James said on Dec. 22 that her office was “looking into” several issues surrounding Santos, but did not get into specifics. The Attorney General’s office did not reply to questions about the status of its GoFundMe inquiry.
A spokesperson for GoFundMe declined to comment on specifics, but indicated the company has been cooperating with ongoing investigations.
Joe Anuta contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 2, 2023