www.inkthinkerblog.com — I have no idea how I got on their mailing list, but Heifer International keeps sending me catalogs. The first one was hilarious. The second was mildly amusing. After that, it was all downhill.
Today I finally called and asked them to remove me from their mailing list, which, they informed me, will take four to six weeks. I have to wonder, are the Heifers themselves the ones maintaining the distro list? I know Susan Sarandon, their celebrity supporter, said, “Giving a Heifer gift feels so good. …What gift could be more meaningful?” but really, I’ve had enough livestock in my life.
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What do you have against Heifer International? It is a highly regarded organization of long standing that has made a real difference in the world.
I assume you got on their list because you contributed something to another charity with which they exchange lists. No mystery there.
Obviously, there is no reason you have to contribute. But I’m not sure I understand your particular annoyance with Heifer International, as opposed to any of the other many charities you no doubt get mailings from.
What’s your beef, so to speak?
I knew someone was going to call me out on this! I have absolutely nothing against the organization, cows of any sort, or Susan Sarandon. I also like llamas, rabbits, flocks of chicks, honeybees (of course), goats, and pretty much any other type of animal (although, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not particularly fond of snakes). My “beef” is with receiving an onslaught of unwanted solicitations throughout the year, despite my lack of involvement with any of the associated organizations or their mailing list affiliates, and to be honest, the name “Heifer International” just cracked me up (it’s much funnier than, for instance, “The Red Cross”). I understand that their success rests on making as many people as possible aware of their work and asking for additional support — and if I received one catalog from them, no problem. But weekly contact from them, as well as whatever organziations they’ve shared my info with, is overkill. I’m tired of of receiving these solicitations, I’m tired of having to dig through them to get my actual mail, I’m tired of having to dispose of them in an environmentally conscious way, and I’m tired of having to call up people from whom I’ve never requested materials in the first place to ask that they stop sending me stuff. Marketing psychology aside, if I were interested, I would have responded the first time. Yes, I have made Heifer International my scapegoat (livestock pun unintended), but it has nothing to do with my not agreeing with their mission. It’s because I’m sick and tired of having my mailbox packed with solicitations, and their most recent catalog pushed me over the top.
Is there a “do not mail” list, comparable to the “do not call” list?
kk
(And speaking of overkill, verification word: “botuofkp”)
Well, since Dick was the one to call you out, can I be the one who’s apparently an idiot? What the crap is Heifer International? (I haven’t clicked your handy little link, yet), and what the double crap is a Heifer gift?
As a matter of fact there is a do not mail list. It is maintained by the Direct Marketing Association.
See http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html
alicia,
If you give a man a fish, yada yada.
I just clicked the link, and their site is awful. It’s full of marketing blather but it omits the basic premise that Heifer International started out with.
Their innovative idea was to provide a bred heifer (young cow)–now expanded to include other species–to a third-world family, teach the family to care for the animal, and set up a system in which the animal’s offspring would form the foundation for a village herd while the milk would provide income for the family.
In terms of efficient and effective use of donations, doing what they say they do, not imposing American values or economics, not subverting local cultures and religions, etc., they’ve got a better reputation than a lot of charities that ostensibly serve the same populations (Save the Children, for example).
The underlying philosophy is not too different from the Grameen bank (microcredit) idea that just earned a Nobel Peace Prize for its originator.
Thanks, Dick! I just signed my husband and myself up for the DMA list.
Kristen
I love cows, but wow…
Well, it did give me a chance to use that cool cow picture I found… :]
Hilarious verification word: egrwoolv