Katrina disaster relief one of the Society's biggest moneymakers?

by ithinkisee 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  ithinkisee

  I wrote this almost two years ago (link). This was before KATRINA hit New Orleans:
  
  

  . . . .and I just thought they were SO on top of disaster relief around the world because they cared.
  
  But when I heard this a lightbulb went off in my head:
  
  We just had our CO visit, and our CO is THE GUY that was the head of Hurricane Relief in Punta Gorda, Florida. This was when Florida was hit by 4 or 5 hurricanes in a matter of months.
  
  On two specific occasions in his Sunday post-WT talk he made it clear that - even though it wasn't required - that it was expected that people would donate their insurance check to the Society.
  
  He worked it in like this (I'm quoting from memory):
  
  

  ". . and when the repairs were done the family was so thankful and were thanking us over and over again as they were writing out their check to the Society for the insurance amount - in fact - I don't really know ANYBODY who hasn't donated their Insurance check to the Society. . . ." (and then continues on with the great work the Hurricane Relief People are doing).

  He reiterated it again at the end of his talk.
  
  He even went on to encourage the brothers NOT to use worldly companies because there was a likely chance they would be scammed or swindled.
  
  The stats were that over 1400 WT Families needed new roofs - and that was just roofs. There was lots of other families with just property damages, water damages, structural damages, etc.
  
  My thoughts is that if someone gets a $7k or $10k check (some got even more - some luxury houses had six-figure claims) and then pays for the roofing supplies and donates the remainder to the Society. . . .you do the math.
  
  Even on the conservative side it's ALOT of money.
  
  Even if the Society pays for a handful of people who DON'T have insurance, and builds their roof outright. . . .it doesn't matter. . .a grand or two for the supplies from the millions they are collecting is not a big deal.
  
  - ithinkisee

  This was one of the first posts I ever wrote two years ago. This was well BEFORE Katrina.
  
  Some questions:

  • Did anyone have any similar experiences with the Circuit Overseers in Louisiana? Hear similar things from the platforms?
  • Has anyone else tried pointing this scheme out to other publishers?
  • Are there any other religions that send elders around in groups of two reading scriptures to solicit donations?

  -ithinkisee
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  blondie

  ***

  yb94p.13ReliefOperations—AnExpressionofOurLove***

  On the other side of the globe, Hurricane Iniki smashed into the northwestern HawaiianIslands in September 1992. It proved to be the worst natural disaster in the history of Hawaii. Even before the storm hit the island of Kauai, the elders there were organizing to help their brothers. Spirituality was kept to the fore. During the following weeks, repair and rebuilding was done on 400 homes of the brothers. In each instance, before work began on a specific home, the work crew and the family involved discussed the text for the day and prayed together. For a period of six months, experienced elders, accompanied by their wives, from other islands also went to the disaster area to provide shepherding, conduct meetings, take the lead in field service, and assist in filling out complicated government and/or insurance-claim forms.
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  Junction-Guy

  I have posted several threads here about the WT Society raking in money over Katrina. One congregation alone in Texas sent $46,000 to the Wt Society thinking it was for hurricane relief. Jehovah's Witnesses were encouraged not to write disaster relief on their checks and to make donations payable to the Worldwide Work. I wish this could have been exposed more to the press, but Katrina is almost a memory now.
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  abbagail

  After the string of 4 hurricanes in Florida of 2004 (Charlie, a bad one, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne), Fox News did a segment about the JWs over in the Orlando area out rebuilding roofs and houses for their members. So I guess the peon-JWs do all the back-breaking free-labor, and the WT gets all the cash. Not a bad money-making-scam at'tall!
  
  /ag
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  New Worldly Translation

  Very interesting post. Even when I was a JW the WTS boasting about the charity work it did after disasters rang hollow.
  The purported 'charity' work of the WTS is what winds me up the most about the org now. The JW's in disaster hit areas might as well have MUG written on their heads if they are doing the repairs and paying the org for the privelege.

  It's these sort of examples that make me think the org is not run by just a set of well meaning but misdirected people but by cynical, self serving megalomaniacs.
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  clarity

  Interesting post for those who don't 'know'
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  joe134cd

  I have read other threads that have delt with this topic. One report I remember was from a guy who was on the society rebuild teams, and I remember him saying that it was the houses that had the insurance cheque that got preference. Very few uninsured houses were repaired. To turn around and say they were helping the needy is just "DISGUTING AND SICKENING"!!!!!!! The sad part about it is the majority of witnesses would have a clue of what is going on. SHAME ON YOU WTBTS!!!!!!!!!!
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  joe134cd

  Just to add further to my above comment. I think the disaster relief scam, "SICKENS & DISGUSTS" me just as much as when they rolled those Menlo Park elders in order to seize the KH assets. DOUBLE SHAME ON YOU WTBTS!!!!!!!!!!