Thursday, November 29, 2018

Don't do your online Christmas shopping till you've read this

It came as a surprise to me, and may be to you too, that you can support your favourite charity when shopping online in a very simple way without any cost to you.

There are two ways of doing this; they are explained in the latest edition of Mass of Ages. In case you've not got your copy (no?), here a summary.

One is called 'easyfundraising'. If you visit your usual online retailers through the easyfundraising site, or using the easyfundraising app, having told easyfundraising which charity you wish to support, a great many of them will make a small donation to your charity if you buy something.

Just visit the easyfundraising site and all will be explained. The donations vary in size; some are fixed sums, some are percentages. It's not much but it adds up. If thousands of UK Catholics consistently did their shopping this way in favour of the Latin Mass Society or Aid to the Church in Need, it would raise a very real sum of money.



The other way is basically Amazon doing this themselves in a way which is even simpler for the user. Instead of going to Amazon.co.uk, go to https://smile.amazon.co.uk. It looks exactly the same, you'll log into your account as usual, but once you've told them who to donate to, they'll donate to your chosen charity every time you buy something. (It also works with Amazon.com, but you have to choose a charity from the USA.)

How much does Amazon give? Half of one percent of the value of your purchase. (It's exactly the same if you shop on Amazon via easyfundraising.) Again, it's not much, but it adds up. You could easily end up contributing more, over a year, to the Latin Mass Society (or whoever) through shopping online, than you do through a standard annual membership or regular donations.

Why do the retailers do this? Because as good corporations they give a certain amount of their profits to charity, and this is a way to let their customers choose the charity, as well as giving those customers an extra reason to use them.

Think of the hideous causes they might otherwise support with your money! Put it to a good use.

Oh, but obviously use the Latin Mass Society's online shop for preference, filled as it is with Christmas cards, nativity sets, advent calendars, and devotional gifts of all kinds.

Support the Latin Mass Society

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