Oxfam canvassers are still going door to door
My doorbell rang just now, and someone was standing outside with a face shield and a clipboard. Assuming nobody would be doing this now unless it was something official and serious, I opened the door. I didn’t have a mask on – I was interrupted eating dinner.
It was some guy canvassing for Oxfam.
I did not give him hell, but what? The government has declared the city a red zone, and they still have people pestering folks at home for donations?
MarcG 20:29 on 2020-09-30 Permalink
I had firefighters with no masks on come by a week ago to make sure I had smoke detectors installed. I’ve taken to yelling at/through the glass pane in my front door but the people on the other side can barely hear me. I kind of wish I had a mailslot.
GC 20:42 on 2020-09-30 Permalink
I understand your frustration, Kate, but I’m sure lots of people are doing things today because they are still technically possible and not allowed tomorrow. Which is silly. The virus isn’t waiting for October 1.
Kate 20:54 on 2020-09-30 Permalink
MarcG, did you communicate with the fire dept. about that? I had firefighters come by a couple of months ago (which I recall posting about) but the one who came inside had a mask on, at least.
GC, well exactly.
MarcG 21:12 on 2020-09-30 Permalink
I didn’t call anyone. They didn’t come inside, just stood at a fair distance from the door after realizing I gave a shit and took my word that I had just replaced them all with the 10-year lithium battery type.
JP 23:09 on 2020-09-30 Permalink
I’m surprised Oxfam would still be having people going door to door…do they really get any donations out of that method during the pandemic and particularly, when we’ve just entered…red!?
To be honest, I really avoid opening the door for people I don’t know, kind of like the people who don’t answer calls when they see a number that they don’t know.
Very very few people should be knocking on my door if I don’t know them. In the past (pre-covid), we’ve had Jehovah’s witnesses, kids selling chocolates or cookies, and window cleaners trying to sell their services…It’s extremely annoying. Door-to-door tactics will not work for me. I understand kids fundraising, but to be honest, my parents never allowed us to sell chocolate door-to-door (they didn’t think it was safe and they weren’t willing to come with us). They’d just buy one or two of the entire packs…and we’d be eating that chocolate for weeks…
More related to the post, the agent from the city of Montreal, who came to our place in August to test our water for lead was masked. If she hadn’t been, I would’ve requested that she wear one.
walkerp 07:04 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
I think we are being a bit alarmist here. Somebody standing at your door, masked, keeping their distance has a very low chance of contagion.
Jonathan 07:53 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
I think it is still ok to knock on someone’s door and talk to them. It’s just not allowed to have them enter their house. This makes sense to me.
Oxfam and all those organizations still need money to function, and they have now COVID relief efforts in their countries of intervention. Many of these countries are worse hit economically speaking than Canada and Quebec (and often without the resources/welfare systems we have). So why wouldn’t they continue?
There are a lot of folks who are still working like before and have a lot of travel money they can burn!
Kate 08:06 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
Why wouldn’t they continue?
It’s an ominous time. At the best of times, who likes to be disturbed around suppertime by someone asking for money? But right now, with people out of work – I don’t have a day job myself, having had it go away mid-March and not come back – do they really think this is the time to try to squeeze money out of people?
Right now, with heightened alarm and despondency in the populace, the assumption is that someone with a clipboard and a lavalier ID could be an official who has a legitimate reason to speak to you. I simply didn’t credit that a charity could still be sending its minions around to hassle people in their homes, which is one reason I opened the door.
In the background of my thoughts once I saw who it was is that Oxfam is one of the most notorious charities for hanging onto its takings; it’s also been in a scandal in Haiti where its workers were caught out paying for sexual services. They would never get a red cent from me, even if I had stacks of cash to burn.
steph 08:46 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
It’s just like the restaurants and bars getting one last push. The red zone dangers only starts October 1st – Covid was asked to wait.
GC 08:47 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
I wonder if some organizations have stepped up their door-to-door canvassing, just because they know more people are at home.
Mark Côté 12:14 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
Note that Oxfam and all the other big charities outsource canvassing to marketing companies. I doubt Oxfam has any control over these day-to-day activities.
On another point, I used to think that Oxfam was actually “one of the good guys” up until the horrible stuff in Haiti. I didn’t realize there were other systemic problems with them.
Kate 13:30 on 2020-10-01 Permalink
Mark Côté, the systemic issues are with Oxfam UK, which is the parent charity – it was originally the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. I don’t think the Canadian branch has been as corrupt, but it’s still Big Charity.