Cell phone manners deflect a donation

Last Saturday I stopped to do my weekly grocery shopping, and poised at the entrance was a volunteer collecting for a charitable organization. This is a common occurrence, and having spent countless hours myself, standing can in hand collecting donations I am usually an easy mark to contribute. However, as I approached I realized this individual was engaged in a cell phone conversation. I decided to go in and do my shopping. As I left the store, the cell phone conversation continued. I did not donate.

If someone wanting my monetary support cannot provide me with 15 seconds of undistracted attention, then my donation must not be that important. As charitable organizations scramble to raise funds from a public with diminished resources, the least someone soliciting can do is hang up their cell phone and talk to me.

Anne Woodruff

Palatine